Joaquin Delgado said the 11-member court found Jose Barrionuevo, Rafael Vera and former Civil Governor Julian Sancristobal guilty of misuse of public funds and kidnapping. The crimes were in relation to the 1983 mistaken-identity kidnapping of Basque businessman Segundo Marey, which marked the start of a covert camaign of terror against ETA members. When the kidnapping took place, Barrionuevo was interior minister under former Socialist Prime Minister Felipe Gonzalez while Vera was the secretary of state for security. Both men had claimed innocence and said they were not involved with the „dirty war“. Sancristobal was the former civil governor of Vizcaya — a province of the Basque Country where Marey was held for 10 days even after his captors realised he was not actually an ETA member. During the two-month long trial Sancristobal admitted his involvement in the kidnapping but said orders came from higher up. The sentence also prevents all three men from holding public office for 12 years. Barrionuevo is currently a Socialist member of parliament. Barrionuevo and Vera were accused of masterminding the activities of a group known by its Spanish initials, GAL, which appeared for the first time after the Marey kidnapping. Another nine former officials and police in the trial — all of whom admitted their involvement in various aspects of GAL — were also sentenced to terms ranging from two to nine years in prison.