Josu Ternera
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Jose Antonio Urrutikoetxea Bengoetxeá (Josu Ternerá, Josu Calf) is a historical member of the terrorist organization ETA. He was born December 24 of 1950 in Miravalles (Biscay).
[edit] Criminal Activity
He served in ETA, until it went underground, he was in charge of operations in Biscay. In May of 1971 he fled to Franca, Brazil at which time he joined the military fron of the organization.
On July 15, 1972 he attacked the factory Orbegozo in Hernani (Guipúzcoa), stealing approximately four million pesetas.
On July 28, 1972 he was involved in the robbery of a van carrying foreign currency for the Bank of Biscay in the village of Pasajes (Guipúzcoa), seizing more 12,000,000 pesetas. On the 6 of December of that same year he participated in the attack to the Union House of Hernani.
On January 21, 1973, he along with other members of ETA used a powder keg Hernani with more than 3,000 kilograms of dynamite and various explosive materials to plan an attack. Part of these explosives were used in December of the same year to make the attack against Luis Carrero Blanco, president of Spain during the Government of Franco.
After the death of which outside responsible for the military front Eustakio Mendizábal Benito, became position of these responsibilities.
In July 1972 he participated in ETA meetings in Madrid.
In 1980 it enters to comprise of the executive of the terrorist organization. July of 1984 one becomes number two of band ETA. [emphasizes during these years its opposition to the conversations of Algiers, between the government of Felipe González and ETA, that would finish in failure.
In January of 1989 he was arrested in Bayonne with his woman (the leader of outer relations Herri Batasuna Elena Beloki), who was later recognized as the organizer of international apparatus of ETA). He was sent the prison of Fresnes (Paris). Later he was extradited to Spain, where he was in freedom when considering itself that it had been judged in France by pertenecia and financing of ETA and that the other crimes of which it was possible to be accused to him had prescribed.
He has been summoned to testify on two occasions before the Supreme Court, who investigated if he issued the order to commit the ETA attack against the house quarter of the Civil Guard of Zaragoza in 1987 in which eleven people died, among them five children. October 26, 1990, he was found guilty and was sentenced to ten years in prison for conspiracy, use of false documents and illegal possession of weapons.
The Office of the public prosecutor of the National Hearing solicitor in July of 1993 sentenced Josu to twelve years of prison for being in charge of the international apparatus of ETA from 1984 to his arrest in 1989. After his release he is released by the French authorities and given to Spain the May 4, 1996.
The judge of the Audiencia Nacional Javier Gomez de Liaño ordered his detention and that same month he is suspected of belonging to an armed and arms depot. In June 1996 he is declared as being in charge of the attack on the Plaza de la Argentina de Madrid in 1986, which killed twelve guards civilians.
The "sorry" Juan Manuel Suárez Gamboa recognized then that "Josu Calf" was one of the maximum leaders of the terrorist group ETA. In October of 1996 the terrorist, Jose Rego, maintained that "Josu Calf" was the maximum leader of ETA in 1987, which led to Judge Gomez de Liaño reopening four cases against him.
[edit] Political Activity
He has been a member of Basque Parliament in Vizcaya by the lists of Euskal Herritarrok and has been member of the Commission of Human rights.
