Otegi and Diez to be tried for 'Bateragune case'

Ex-leader of Batasuna, the banned political wing of the armed separatist group ETA, Arnaldo Otegi will be along with former secretary general of LAB Rafa Diez Usabiaga and six other people on charges of seeking to rebuild the Batasuna party under the guise of a new organization called Bateragune.

In total, the national High Court will celebrate 9 sessions that will take place from June 27th to July 7th. 40 police officers and 33 witnesses were called to testify at this trial.

Prosecutors demand 10 years in prison for attempting to rebuild the formation of the outlawed group Batasuna through Bateragune.

The other six defendants are the former treasurer of the PCTV-EHAK Sonia Jacinto, Miren Zabaleta -daughter of the general coordinator of Aralar Patxi Zabaleta-, Arkaitz Rodriguez, Jose Luis Moreno Sages (''Txelui''), candidate for the legislative charter in a list that was outlawed, Jos Manuel Serra and Amaia Esnal.

The prosecutor Vicente González Mota has asked 10 years of imprisonment for each of them accusing the ''Bateragune'' of being "the frame for the construction of the pro-sovereignty accumulation of forces under ETA''s orders"; furthermore the prosecutor accuses them of having as an objective "taking the political confrontation to its highest point".

On October 16, 2009, Otegi, along with other Basque politicians and activists such as Rafael Diez Usabiaga, was once again arrested for trying to put Batasuna back together. He started a hunger strike on January 27, 2010 but stopped it soon after.