FUNDACIÓN VÍCTIMAS DEL TERRORISMO 96 - ENGLISH

40 COVITE FOUNDATION ASSOCIATIONS AND FOUNDATIONS T he Collective of Victims of Terro- rism (COVITE) documented 129 acts of support for ETA between January and June 2026 through its Ra- dicalisation Observatory, a section of its website recording all acts related to violent radicalisation in the context of ETA terro- rism. This represents a 23%decrease com- pared with the same period in 2025, when 168 acts were recorded. Nevertheless, in a statement issued on 30 June, COVITE warned that the fall probably reflects the gradual reduction in the number of ETA members in prison. Despite this, public legitimisation of ETA and its members remains fully present in public life in the Basque Country and Navarre. COVITE’s President, Consuelo Ordóñez, denounced the fact that “the Basque na- tionalist left continues to use streets, local festivals, demonstrations and apparently cultural events to present ETAmembers as political or moral role models. A reduction COVITE RECORDS 129 ACTS OF SUPPORT FOR ETA IN THE FIRST SIX MONTHS OF 2026 in the total number of events compared with last year does not mean the problem has disappeared. In the Basque Country and Navarre, terrorists convicted of mur- ders, kidnappings, attacks and extortion continue to be presented as people worthy of tribute,” she said. By type, COVITE recorded 44 demons- trations supporting amnesty or release for ETA prisoners, 34 graffiti messages and banners supporting ETA or its prisoners, 24 acts of glorification at local festivals, 17 tributes to deceased ETA members, 2 tributes to ETA members still in prison, 1 public ongi etorri welcome for ETA priso- ners and 7 acts classified as “Other”. By location, 52acts tookplace inBiscay, 50 in Gipuzkoa, 13 inNavarre, 3 inÁlava, 7 inother provinces and 4 abroad. By month, March recorded the most acts, with 37, followed by Junewith28, Januarywith21, Februarywith 19, April with 13 andMay with 11. THE RETURN OF ONGI ETORRI WELCOMES COVITE considers it particularly serious that a public ongi etorri welcome for ETA prisoners was recorded for the first time since 2022. The event took place in San Sebastián in the early hours of 19 January 2026, concealed within the Tamborrada drum festival, and honoured ETA member Balbino Sáenz Olarra and another unidentified ETA member. For the Collective, holding the event in the early hours and taking advantage of San Sebastián’s best-known festival demonstrates “a deliberate intention to conceal the glorification of terrorists within festive settings”. Balbino Sáenz Olarra was sentenced to 108 years in prison for the attempted murder of former ministers José Barrionuevo and Matilde Fernández, and for an un- successful attack on two police vans. The COVITE warns that Korrika has been one of the year’s most serious episodes: 23 recorded acts were linked to the race, where 38 images of ETA members were documented The Collective denounces the fact that, despite the Basque Government’s mass, fraudulent granting of third-grade open prison status and Article 100.2 arrangements, the Basque nationalist left continues publicly displaying ETA prisoners in a manner obscene and provocative to victims