Spain’s Supreme Court has sentenced 74-year-old pensioner Pompeyo González Pascual, a former civil servant, to 18 years in prison for terrorism-related crimes.
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He was found guilty of sending several bombs in 2022 to government and diplomatic institutions, Reuters reports.
In late 2022, a man sent six parcels containing homemade explosives to the following address:
- office of Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez;
- Spanish Defense Minister Margarita Robles;
- the EU satellite centre at the Torrejon de Ardoz air base;
- the arms manufacturing company Instalaza, which produces weapons received by Ukraine;
- embassies of Ukraine and the USA in Spain
Most of the letters were defused, although a Ukrainian embassy security officer was slightly injured when one of them detonated.
Gonzalez was arrested in January 2023.
González, who lived in Miranda del Ebro (Burgos) in the north of the country, was found by analyzing the stamps on the parcels – it turned out that the only two shops where they could be purchased were shops in this city. The parcels were sent “from different open post boxes” in Burgos.
During the search, evidence of the production of these explosive devices was found on Gonzalez, and on his smartphone were applications of the Russian propaganda media Russia Today and Sputnik.
In April 2023, a judge released the detainee on bail, citing his age and lack of a criminal record.
Now the court:
- sentenced him to 10 years in prison for terrorism and an additional eight years for making explosive devices for that purpose. The prosecutor had asked for 22 years;
- also ordered the payment of 1,500 euros in compensation to the injured employee of the Ukrainian embassy, Nikolai Velichko.
It is noted that the goal of the attacker’s actions was “to create confusion in Spanish society so that it would put pressure on the governments of Spain and the United States, and other institutions in Spain, to stop supporting Ukraine in the war against Russia.”
The court must still rule on his incarceration in a separate, albeit automatic, step, so Gonzalez can still appeal the verdict.
Source: Reuters
Explosives sent in letter to Spanish Prime Minister and military
Source: Racurs
I am David Wyatt, a professional writer and journalist for Buna Times. I specialize in the world section of news coverage, where I bring to light stories and issues that affect us globally. As a graduate of Journalism, I have always had the passion to spread knowledge through writing.