Politics · Spain · 6 hrs ago
Spain's Supreme Court reopens case against Natividad Jáuregui
Spain's Supreme Court has ordered the case against Natividad Jáuregui reopened over a 1981 killing in Bilbao.
Jáuregui is accused of taking part in the ETA attack that killed Guardia Civil lieutenant colonel Ramón Romeo Rotaeche.
The National Court had closed the case in 2023, ruling that the 20-year deadline for prosecuting the killing had passed.
The Supreme Court ruled that a 1989 court action interrupted that deadline because it addressed the attack and evidence linking Jáuregui to it.
Prosecutors and Rotaeche's family had appealed the closure, and the Supreme Court accepted their arguments by a three-to-two majority.
The case can now continue in the National Court, which will decide how to proceed.
Jáuregui was released in 2023; the Supreme Court said its ruling does not restore earlier restrictions on her, and the National Court will decide whether to impose any again.
Spain’s Supreme Court has overturned a decision to close the case against Natividad Jáuregui over a 1981 ETA killing in Bilbao.
The court ordered the investigation to continue, accepting appeals by prosecutors and the victim’s family.
The majority ruled that a 1989 judicial action interrupted the 20-year period for prosecuting the killing.
Jáuregui was handed over to Spain in 2020 and released in 2023 after the case was closed on prescription grounds.
The Supreme Court’s ruling does not automatically reinstate precautionary measures against her.
- Who
- Natividad Jáuregui, a former ETA member, is the subject of the case. The appeals were brought by prosecutors and the victim’s family.
- What
- Spain’s Supreme Court overturned the closure of the case and ordered the investigation to continue.
- When
- The killing occurred on 19 March 1981; the Supreme Court issued its ruling on 15 October 2026.
- Where
- The killing took place in Bilbao, Spain, near the Basilica of Begoña.
- Why
- The court found that a 1989 judicial action interrupted the 20-year limitation period for prosecuting the killing.
Supreme Court majority
Two dissenting magistrates
Limitation period
Supreme Court majority
The majority found the 1989 judicial action sufficiently specific to interrupt the 20-year period.
Two dissenting magistrates
The dissenters said the appeals should have been rejected.
Outcome
Supreme Court majority
The majority overturned the case closure and ordered the investigation to continue.
Two dissenting magistrates
The dissenters opposed overturning the closure.
ETA killed a Civil Guard lieutenant colonel in Bilbao.
A court reopened an investigation into the killing and ordered steps to clarify the case.
Belgian authorities handed Jáuregui over to Spain.
Jáuregui was released after the National Court closed the case on limitation grounds.
Spain’s Constitutional Court granted Jáuregui’s appeal and allowed her to leave the country.
The Supreme Court overturned the closure and ordered the investigation to continue.
- Victim
- Ramón Romeo Rotaeche, a lieutenant colonel of the Civil Guard
- Killing
- 19 March 1981, Bilbao
- Limitation period
- 20 years
- Key judicial action
- 24 April 1989
- Supreme Court ruling
- 15 October 2026
- Court vote
- Three magistrates supported the ruling; two dissented
3 sources
El Supremo reabre la investigación por asesinato contra 'la etarra de las mariscadas' al considerar que el atentado no está prescrito
El Supremo anula el archivo de una causa contra Natividad Jáuregui por un atentado de ETA en Bilbao en 1981
El Supremo ordena reabrir una causa contra la etarra Natividad Jáuregui por un atentado en 1981
What people are saying
una actuación judicial de contenido material e individualizador suficiente
cuando aún era jurídicamente posible investigar la participación de Jauregui
indebida