Garzon accuses Otegi and Rafa Diez of acting under orders from ETA

Spanish National Court Judge Baltasar Garzón on Monday set in motion the prosecution against eight people charged with the offence of belonging to a terrorist organization. Ex-Batasuna spokesman, Arnaldo Otegi, and the former General Secretary of nationalist trade union LAB, Rafael Díez Usabiaga, plus six others from the Basque nationalist leftwing stand accused of backing a political process known as ''Bateragune'' (''meeting place''), with the aim of creating a political group capable of standing at the next municipal and provincial elections.

The Judge, however, considered there to be insufficient evidence with which to prosecute Rufino Etxeberria. The rest of those being tried on Monday were: Arkaitz Rodríguez, Miren Zabaleta, Sonia Jacinto, Amaia Esnal, José Luis Moreno and José Manuel Serra. All were arrested last 13th October as part of an investigation ordered by Judge Garzon and five, including both Otegi and Díez Usubiaga, were jailed three days after appearing at preliminary court proceedings.

The judge stressed that the eight people on trial had been attempting to "create a block for the development of a pro-autonomous strategy" which gave shape to the politico-military strategy of ETA, creating a new institutionally political group to succeed Batasuna and whose establishment was planned for Spring 2010. According to a court order, evidence compiled during the investigation indicated that the projected "directed by ETA from beginning to end" was close to taking shape when police and the courts intervened in October 2009.

Garzón charged the accused with developing "a strategy based on a combination of votes and bombs" which would take orders from the armed organization and included the use of strategic "halts in the armed struggle".

The order also specifies that one of the activities developed by Otegi was to "attain veiled ceasefires from ETA.. in order to enable contact with and get closer to political and social groups or individuals who were in favor of self-rule or independence but who were against the use of arms and demanded a cease to violence as a requisite for continuing, even if violence was still going on in the rest of Europe".