Retired Grandfather Of Civil Servants Who Made Parsel Bombs For Spanish PM Sentenced To 18 Years In Prison

UNSPLASH/Emiliano Bar ILLUSTRATION

JAKARTA - The Spanish High Court sentenced a 74-year-old retired civil servant to 18 years in prison for terrorism cases.

Reported by Reuters, Tuesday, July 23, Pompeyo Gonzalez Pascual was found guilty of sending several parcel bombs in 2022 targeting government and diplomatic offices.

Pelaku ditangkap pada Januari 2023 setelah mengirimkan enam paket berisi bahan rakitan yang ditujukan kepada Perdana Menteri Spanyol Pedro Sanchez, Menteri Pertahananmen Berhit Robles, embas eksaan Ukraina dan Amerika Serikat di Madrid, pusat angkatan udara dan produsen senjata pada akhir tahun 2022.

Most were tamed, although a security officer at the Ukrainian embassy was lightly injured when one of the bombs exploded.

A judge previously released Gonzalez Pascual, who lives at Miranda del Ebro in northern Spain, on bail in April 2023 citing his age and lack of criminal records.

Now, the court has sentenced him to 10 years in prison for terrorism and an additional 8 years in prison for producing explosives for the purpose, the ruling said. Gonzalez was also sentenced to pay compensation of 1,500 euros (1,627.65 US dollars) to the officials of the injured Ukrainian embassy, Mykola Velychko.

Gonzalez Pascual was found guilty of acting with the aim of creating a major commotion in the Spanish people to exert pressure on the governments of Spain and the United States, as well as other Spanish institutions to stop supporting Ukraine in the fight against Russia.

The court will still order its imprisonment separately, although automatically. Gonzalez can appeal the sentence.

The Spanish government has insisted on supporting Ukraine and has since shipped tanks and other weapons to Kyiv.

During the investigation, the police found traces of DNA matching Gonzalez's DNA on the explosive device. Records provided by Amazon's online retailer (AMZN.O), opening a new tab show Gonzalez had purchased explosive precursor material in June and July 2022.