Top tier of Basque nationalist group arrested
The entire top leadership of an outlawed Basque political party linked to Spanish terrorist group ETA have been arrested in a police raid.
The 22 Batasuna party officials were arrested as they met in the northern town of Segura on the order of the country’s anti-terror judge Baltasar Garzon.
They will be taken to Madrid for questioning but it is unclear what, if any, charges they face.
The party has been outlawed since 2003 and is barred from organising political activities.
Its leader, Arnaldo Otegi, has been in jail since June on terrorism charges.
Batasuna was outlawed by Spain’s Supreme Court in 2003 on the grounds it was the political wing of ETA, which has been blamed for more than 800 killings in bombings and other attacks since the 1960s. The group wants to establish an independent Basque state from parts of north-eastern Spain and south-western France.
