|
San Sebastian: A prominent Basque separatist politician was released from prison yesterday after serving a 15-month sentence for offenses related to terrorism, and he said he believes talks could help end the separatist conflict in northern Spain.
Arnaldo Otegi is a former leader of the outlawed Batasuna party, which is considered the political wing of the armed separatist group ETA.
"There is a deep and unresolved political problem in this country which I personally think can only be resolved through dialogue and negotiation," Otegi said. But he also called for the release of all Basque separatist prisoners.
A lower court convicted Otegi in June 2006 of defending terrorism - a crime in Spain - in remarks he had made at a rally in memory of an ETA leader on the 25th anniversary of his death.
Appeal rejected
The Supreme Court rejected Otegi's appeal.
At the time, Batasuna called Otegi's arrest an act of "maximum gravity" and accused the government of Socialist Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero of silencing the pro-independence movement's chief representative.
Otegi is likely to return to court soon to face other terrorism-related charges, ranging from participating in illegal political meetings and marches to being a representative of a banned political wing of ETA.
Spain, the European Union and the US all consider ETA a terrorist group.
It has killed more than 820 people, including security force members, politicians and civilians, since the late 1960s in a violent campaign for an independent Basque state in northern Spain and western France.
|
