The Association of Victims of Terrorism () is a Spanish association created in 1981 by victims of

terrorist attacks The following is a list of terrorist incidents that were not carried out by a state or its forces (see state terrorism and state-sponsored terrorism). Assassinations are presented in List of assassinations and unsuccessful attempts at List o ...

. Its members include those injured by

ETA Eta ( ; uppercase , lowercase ; ''ē̂ta'' or ''ita'' ) is the seventh letter of the Greek alphabet, representing the close front unrounded vowel, . Originally denoting the voiceless glottal fricative, , in most dialects of Ancient Greek, it ...

GRAPO The First of October Anti-Fascist Resistance Groups () was a Spanish clandestine Marxist–Leninist group aiming for the formation of a Spanish Republican state. The group was anti-capitalist, anti-imperialist, and strongly opposed Spain's me ...

, the

Provisional Irish Republican Army The Provisional Irish Republican Army (Provisional IRA), officially known as the Irish Republican Army (IRA; ) and informally known as the Provos, was an Irish republican paramilitary force that sought to end British rule in Northern Ireland ...

and

Al Qaeda , image = Flag of Jihad.svg , caption = Jihadist flag, Flag used by various al-Qaeda factions , founder = Osama bin Laden{{Assassinated, Killing of Osama bin Laden , leaders = {{Plainlist, * Osama bin Lad ...

, as well as their families. Its membership exceeds 6,000. Its current president is Maite Araluce, the daughter of José María Araluce Villar, president of the Provincial Assembly of Gipuzkoa and member of the Council of the Realm, assassinated by ETA in 1976. During the presidency of

Jose Maria Aznar Jose is the English transliteration of the Hebrew and Aramaic name ''Yose'', which is etymologically linked to ''Yosef'' or Joseph. Given name Mishnaic and Talmudic periods * Jose ben Abin * Jose ben Akabya *Jose the Galilean * Jose ben Halaft ...

, the AVT advocated political positions criticised as extreme, including conspiracy theories regarding the Madrid train bombings. This led to the creation of other terror victims' associations with less divisive political agendas. This association promoted a campaign against other Basque nationalist organisations, such as the political party

Batasuna Batasuna (; ) was a Basque nationalist political party. Based mainly in Spain, it was banned in 2003, after a court ruling declared proven that the party was financing ETA with public money. The party is included in the "European Union list of ...

, Jarrai or Gestoras pro Amnistía, as well as music groups such as Su Ta Gar that it accuses of supporting

Basque terrorism The Basque conflict, also known as the Spain–ETA conflict, was an armed and political conflict from 1959 to 2011 between Spain and the Basque National Liberation Movement, a group of social and political Basque organizations which sought inde ...

11 March 2004 train bombings

On 11 March 2004, a series of rush hour explosions in several Madrid train stations left 192 dead and some 1,900 wounded. AVT expressed doubts about the conclusion reached by the Spanish judiciary. Specifically, the AVT asked why no pictures of the alleged perpetrators were found, unlike in the

7 July 2005 London bombings The 7 July 2005 London bombings, also referred to as 7/7, were a series of four co-ordinated suicide attacks carried out by Islamist terrorists that targeted commuters travelling on Transport in London, London's public transport during the ...

, and why the type of explosives used remains unknown. The association also questioned the relationship between the alleged perpetrators and the

National Police Corps of Spain The National Police Corps (, CNP; ; also known simply as the National Police, ) is the national civilian police force of Spain. The CNP is mainly responsible for policing urban areas, whilst rural policing is generally the responsibility of ...

and

Guardia Civil The Civil Guard (; ) is one of the two national law enforcement agencies of Spain. As a national gendarmerie, it is military in nature and is responsible for civil policing under the authority of both the Ministry of the Interior and the Minis ...

Related groups

Other associations of ETA victims include COVITE (''Colectivo de Víctimas del Terrorismo'' / Victims of Terrorism Group), representing victims from the Basque Country itself. Other victim associations from the 11 March attacks include the Asociación Afectados de Terrorismo, headed by Pilar Manjón. This association does not share the AVT's viewpoints on the attacks.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Asociacion De Victimas Del Terrorismo Recipients of the Order of Constitutional Merit 1981 establishments in Spain Victims' rights organizations