(Angus Reid Global Monitor) – Many adults in Spain believe their country’s most notorious armed group is not responsible for a deadly terrorist attack, according to a poll by Instituto Opina release by Cadena Ser. 53.4 per cent of respondents think Basque Motherland and Liberty (ETA) was not involved in the Madrid bombings.
(Angus Reid Global Monitor) – Many adults in Spain believe their country’s most notorious armed group is not responsible for a deadly terrorist attack, according to a poll by Instituto Opina release by Cadena Ser. 53.4 per cent of respondents think Basque Motherland and Liberty (ETA) was not involved in the Madrid bombings.
On Mar. 11, 2004, a series of explosions in one of Madrid’s main railway stations, as well as three commuter trains, killed 190 people. A group allegedly linked to the al-Qaeda network claimed responsibility, saying the attacks were prepared in retaliation for Spain’s support of the United States-led coalition effort in Iraq.
In the early stages of the investigation, the administration headed by president José Mara Aznar of the Popular Party (PP) blamed ETA for the bombings. In the general election held three days after the bombings, the Socialist Worker’s Party (PSOE)—led by José Luis Rodrguez Zapatero—emerged victorious. 61.4 per cent of respondents think Aznar’s government tried to manipulate information about the Madrid attacks to implicate ETA.
Yesterday, the Madrid bombings trial got underway in Spain. In all, 20 defendants—most of them Moroccan—are accused of carrying out the attack, aided by nine Spaniards who allegedly trafficked explosive materials. The key defendant in the trial—a 35-year-old Egyptian man named Rabei Osman El Sayed Ahmed—denied involvement and condemned the attacks “unconditionally and completely.”
Spain abolished the death penalty for all crimes in 1995. In accordance with Spain’s Penal Code, a conviction would carry a maximum sentence of 40 years in prison for each defendant
Polling Data
Do you think Basque Motherland and Liberty (ETA) was involved in the Madrid bombings?
Yes | 29.0% |
No | 53.4% |
Not sure | 16.9% |
Do you think the government of José Mara Aznar tried to manipulate information about the Madrid attacks to implicate ETA?
Yes | 61.4% |
No | 26.5% |
Not sure | 11.4% |
Source: Instituto Opina / Cadena Ser
Methodology: Telephone interviews with 1,000 Spanish adults, conducted on Feb. 7, 2007. Margin of error is 3.1 per cent.
