ETA bomber's release draws protests

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MADRID, Aug. 2 (UPI) -- The release of notorious Basque bomber Inaki de Juana is unjustified, say protesters planning a wave of demonstrations across Spain.

De Juana, a one-time member of the Basque separatist group ETA, was released from prison this week after serving 21 years, triggering protests. One group says it plans to gather at the Madrid site of a 1986 bombing organized by de Juana that killed 12 police officers and wounded 70, Sky News reported Saturday.

Spanish media is focusing on de Juana's plans to move into an apartment block where the widow of an ETA bombing victim also lives, the British broadcaster reported.

"This individual draws a perfectly understandable sensation of contempt from the Prime Minister, as from all citizens," Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero said.

De Juana was originally set to be freed in 2005 but later had three more years tacked onto his sentence due to threatening behavior, Sky News said. At the time he was sentenced, the maximum prison sentence in Spain was 20 years, which has since been extended to 40 years for terrorist offenses.