The new prison in Zubieta (Gipuzkoa) was officially opened this morning with the presence of the Lehendakari of the Basque Government, Imanol Pradales, the Minister of Justice and Human Rights, María Jesús San José, and the Spanish Minister of the Interior, Fernando Grande-Marlaska.
The facility has a capacity for 450 inmates and will initially house around 280, of whom 230 will be transferred from the Martutene prison.
The facility has a capacity for 450 inmates and will initially house around 280, of whom 230 will be transferred from the Martutene prison.
The new Zubieta prison covers a total area of 284,200 square meters, with 80,000 square meters dedicated to the building itself, and will employ 255 officials. Recently, on the 11th of this month, Minister María Jesús San José visited the center, emphasizing that "the new prison in Gipuzkoa will be key to consolidating the Basque model focused on rehabilitation and coexistence".
The minister explained that the opening of the new center and the closure of Martutene reinforce the Basque prison model, advocating for "a more modern, specialized penal execution with a greater capacity for inmate care." She added that the new facilities respond to a model that "reinforces security and treatment, allowing for the guarantee of coexistence and the creation of a genuine change process in individuals who commit offenses".
The Zubieta prison is organized into modules, which allow for better internal classification, the design of tailored pathways for each individual, and the execution of specific programs for different profiles. This organization reflects "the evolution of the prison model in Euskadi: it offers better spaces for coexistence, more opportunities for training and employment, and more personalized intervention," with the primary goal of promoting social reintegration from a "framework of security and responsibility".
Once the Martutene prison is vacated, the urban development project planned for its site can commence, with the construction of approximately 400 homes. According to projections, the demolition of the old Martutene prison will begin in the first half of 2027. This demolition project will be drafted by the public company Visesa and awarded to the state entity Casa47, with an approximate budget of 4 million euros.
