Spanish court sentences 74-year-old parcel bomb author to long prison term

MADRID (Reuters) - Spain's High Court sentenced a 74-year-old retired civil servant to 18 years in prison on Tuesday for terrorism-related offences after finding him guilty of sending several parcel bombs in 2022 targeting government and diplomatic offices.

Pompeyo Gonzalez Pascual was arrested in January 2023 after sending six parcels with homemade explosives addressed to Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, Defence Minister Margarita Robles, the embassies of Ukraine and the United States in Madrid, an air force base and a weapons manufacturer in late 2022.

Most were defused, although a security employee at the Ukrainian embassy was slightly injured when one detonated.

A judge had released Gonzalez Pascual, who lived in Miranda del Ebro in northern Spain, on bail in April 2023 citing his age and his lack of a criminal record.

Now, the court sentenced him to 10 years in jail for terrorism and an additional eight years for manufacturing explosive devices for that purpose, the ruling said. Gonzalez was also sentenced to pay 1,500 euros ($1,627.65) in damages to the injured Ukrainian embassy official Mykola Velychko.

It said Gonzalez Pascual had acted "with the aim to create a great commotion in Spanish society for it to exercise pressure on the governments of Spain and the United States, other institutions in Spain to stop supporting Ukraine in the war against Russia".

The court is still due to order his jailing in a separate, though automatic, step. Gonzalez can appeal the sentence.

The Spanish government has been adamant in its support of Ukraine and has since shipped tanks and other weapons to Kyiv.

During the investigation, police found traces of DNA matching Gonzalez's on the explosive devices. Records supplied by online retailer Amazon showed Gonzalez had bought precursor materials for explosives in June and July 2022.

($1 = 0.9216 euros)

(Reporting by Inti Landauro)