Probably the name of Ángel Berrueta doesn’t ring any bell for any of you. He was a baker that lived in Iruña. He looked like this:
On a day like today in 2004 - 2 days after the jihadist attack in Madrid - a woman entered Ángel’s bakery and tried to attach a banner with the message “ETA NO” on the shop crystal.
At the time, the Spanish Government had been lying for 2 days confirming ETA was to blame for the attacks, all media was repeating the same, and Basque people were enemies #1 although according to foreign press it was clearly an Al-Qaeda attack. Basque people doubted it was ETA from the very beginning: too big for them. But Spanish people love to hate Basques, so they were calling for boycott Basque companies, even asking the Government to cancel our autonomy because WE ALL had gone too far. So that was the situation: lies, doubts, and much hatred.
Ángel told the woman she wasn’t allowed to attach the banner since he already had attached the black crepe and there were lots of strange things regarding who had attacked and killed almost 200 people in Madrid.
The woman went nuts and started accusing Ángel of being an ETA member. She went back home and told what had happened to her husband - a Spanish National Police officer - and her 15-year-old son.
The son took a knife, the husband took his gun. They went down to the bakery. The son stabbed Ángel in the belly and the husband shot him 4 times. Just like that.
The husband was sentenced to 20 years. The son, to 15, although he was out after only 5 years. The woman was absolved.
Now remember that stabbing a man out of hatred means 15 years in prison, while having a bar brawl with a Guardia Civil means 13.
Also remember that shooting a police officer is considered terrorism and means a sentence of hundreds of years in prison, and when an officer kills an unarmed civilian out of hatred, it’s just 20 years, maybe less with a good behaviour.
It’s cheaper for a Spanish nationalist to kill a Basque, than for a Basque to burn a container.
Never forget.
Goian bego.
Prosecutor of the case saw nothing aggravating
In July 2005, the perpetrators of the crime of Ángel Berrueta were tried and convicted. Valeriano de la Peña, as the perpetrator of the murder, was sentenced to 20 years. Miguel José, was sentenced to 15 years. María Pilar Rubio, as instigator, was sentenced to 10 years. In addition, they would have to pay compensation to the family of the murdered man. The ideological factor, premeditation and abandoning the victim without taking care of him were taken into account.
In April 2005 prosecutor Javier Muñoz described the murder as “a quarrel between neighbors”. Due to these statements the family could not collect the insurance policy taken out by the bakery Panasa and Mutua Pamplona, as it was considered that a death following a “quarrel between neighbors” did not fall within the cases foreseen in the policy.
In the trial, Valeriano and Miguel José de la Peña faced a request of 25 years for “murder with the aggravating circumstances of aggravation and overkill” by the family and popular accusations, while prosecutor Muñoz requested just 18 years because he did not see any aggravating circumstances, but murder. The prosecutor also saw no evidence of a crime in the actions of Pilar Rubio - for whom, on the other hand, the accusations demanded a sentence of 10 years in prison - arguing that “legally, encouraging is nothing”. Prosecutor Muñoz eventually obtained the acquittal of Maria Pilar Rubio in December 2005.
Rewards for the prosecutor
Days before Berrueta’s murder, on February 28, 2004the Medal of the Foral Police of Nafarroa was awarded to prosecutor Muñoz Cuesta, for his collaboration with the Foral Police of Nafarroa.
It is not the only medal that this prosecutor received from police forces as he also holds the Cross with white badge of the Order of Merit of the Guardia Civil Corps.
Javier Muñoz Cuesta was appointed prosecutor of the Supreme Court on October 24, 2015.
