Long before the world had heard of Osama bin Laden, Carlos the Jackal was known as the world's most wanted terrorist. He once claimed in an interview to have been responsible for more than 1,500 deaths in the name of Palestinian liberation.The 62-year-old's latest trial starts on Monday, and will involve his alleged participation in four bombings in France which left 11 dead and dozens injured during the early 1980s. It will likely determine whether he will ever set foot in his native Venezuela again.
In an interview with the Guardian, RamÃrez's brother, Vladimir RamÃrez Sanchez, insisted that RamÃrez, once called the most dangerous man alive, was innocent of murder.
"I am not willing to declare him guilty of something that is considered a heroic act when committed by powerful nations. While these double moral standards continue to exist, I will not accept that my brother is guilty of anything other than opposing the hegemony," said Vladimir, a militant member of the Venezuelan Communist party who described himself as a part-time engineer and full-time defender of his brother.
For Vladimir, his brother's capture has always been tough to swallow. He said, "The circumstance of his kidnapping alone should render the whole process unconstitutional."
And his bitterness has been heightened by the lack of support from Venezuela's government. Where once Hugo Chavez described Ilich (Carlos) as a freedom fighter, Vladimir says the regime has ignored his pleas for legal help.
Vladimir insisted his brother's revolutionary side is still alive and kicking. "His time in jail has only served to deepen my brother's beliefs. His condemnation of the enemy strengthens every time he sees the grip of imperialism tighten, like we've just seen in Libya. I will not rest in my defence until I see justice served."
According to Vladimir, the conditions of Ilich's imprisonment are clearly in violation of his human rights. In telephone conversations spanning 17 years, Ilich has told his brother about a life of abuse where he has been beaten, held in solitary confinement for long periods of time, forbidden from taking lessons in the jail's school, and not allowed to hold marital visits with Isabelle Coutant-Peyre, his lawyer whom he met and married in jail in 2001 after divorcing fellow comrade, Magdalena Kopp, through the Muslim ritual of renunciation.
Vladimir says, "Ilich is bankrupt and if it weren't for the fact that his wife has been willing to defend him for free he would have no defense."
Ilich's latest trial is expected to last several weeks. In a recent interview with French radio, he vowed to fight the charges. "I'm still in a combative state of mind," he told Europe 1 radio. "The first thing I'll do, if I get out by the grace of God ... I'll start with my honeymoon. It's more than a decade late."