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France prosecutors file terrorism charges against suspected Basque separatist leader

By Bernard Hibbitts (editor) and University of Pittsburgh School of Law students.

[JURIST] French prosecutors on Friday filed preliminary terrorism charges against the suspected leader of the Basque separatist group ETA, along with two other people who are believed to be senior members of the group. A judicial source said that the charges against the alleged ETA members stem from preparations to commit a terrorist act, including theft, forgery, and illegal arms charges. The three men, Ibon Gogeascoechea Arronategui, Beinat Aguinalde Ugartemendia, and Gergorio Jimenez Moralesare, were arrested on Sunday in the French village Cahan in a joint Spain-France operation. Gogeascoechea is thought to be ETA's military leader. He has been sought since 1997 for his role in planting explosives around the Guggenheim museum in Bilbao, which was believed to be an assassination attempt on King Juan Carlos. The two other men - Beinat Aguinalde Ugartemendia, and Gergorio Jimenez Morales - are wanted for separate assassinations that took place in 2008. Spain has made great strides recently in its attempts to limit ETA influence. Earlier this week, the Spanish National Court sentenced former Basque separatist party leader Arnaldo Otegi to two years in prison for promoting terrorism in a speech he gave. In January Spanish Judge Fernando Grande-Marlaska ruled that ETA had tried three times to assassinate former Spanish prime minister Jose Maria Aznar in 2001 but had failed. Grande-Marlaska detailed the three assassination attempts as part of a description of the alleged crimes of ETA leader Pedro Maria Olano Zabala, who was arrested in the Basque region earlier that month. In June, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) upheld Spain's ban of Basque political groups Batasuna and Herri Batasuna for their alleged ties to ETA. In April, alleged ETA leader Jurdan Martitegi Lizaso was arrested in France, and a Spanish judge charged him with murder for a May 2008 car bombing that killed a Spanish policeman.

Full post as published by JURIST - The Paper Chase on March 05, 2010 (boomark / email).