Human Rights Court rules against Spain's 'Parot Doctrine'

The European Court of Human Rights on Tuesday condemned as irregular a new case-law known as the 'Parot Doctrine' adopted by Spain's Supreme Court in which a convicted member of the armed group ETA saw her sentence extended nine years by the retroactive application of a change in the case-law.

The Court held that Spain was to ensure the applicant's release at the earliest possible date and ordered Spain to pay the applicant 30.000 euros in damages.

This case marks the first time the European Court of Human Rights rules over the 'Parot doctrine', adopted by Spain's Supreme Court in 2006 to ensure that remission for work done in prison is deducted from the total sentence rather than the 30-year limit under Spanish law. The name comes from convicted ETA member Unai Parot, who was the first to see his prison penalty extended.

Ines Del Rio Prada

The applicant, Ines Del Rio Prada, currently serving a prison sentence in Murcia (Spain), was given prison sentences which, served successively, would have totalled more than 3,000 years. She started serving her sentence in February 1989.

Spain's Audiencia Nacional combined the sentences and fixed the term to be served at 30 years – the maximum sentence applicable in Spain. On 24 April 2008, allowing for remission for work done in prison, the prison authorities decided to release the applicant on 2 July 2008.

However, on 19 May 2008 the Audiencia Nacional asked the prison authorities to revise their calculation, applying a leading Supreme Court judgment of 2006 according to which remission should be applied to each sentence individually and not to the 30-year maximum sentence. On 23 June 2008 the Audiencia Nacional decided that the applicant should be released on 27 June 2017.