Insult and Injury

Knowing very well that they will stand up for their beliefs to the very end, the Franco era Audiencia Nacional has decided to add insult to injury by ordering the arrests of those indicted in the 18/98 process.

Here you have the note by AP, a media outlet on Madrid's payroll, hence their disregard for democratic tenets like the presumption of innocence until proven guilty. Here you have it:

Spain Arrests 40 From 2005 Basque Trial

By DANIEL WOOLLS – Nov 30, 2007

MADRID, Spain (AP) — Police on Friday rounded up at least 40 people convicted of aiding the armed Basque separatist group ETA through a network of ostensibly legitimate social and political organizations, a court official said.

The 40 were among 56 people who went on trial in November 2005 and were out on bail after it ended in March. Sentencing is expected next month.

The National Court has decided to convict 46 of the defendants, although it will not formally read out the verdicts until sometime after Dec. 10. Due to the risk of them trying to flee Spain, the court has ordered police to put them in detention before the convictions are announced, a court official said on ground rules barring publication of her name.

So far, 40 of the 46 have been picked up in the Basque region and neighboring Navarra, the official said.

The case stemmed from an eight-year inquiry by Baltasar Garzon, Spain's leading anti-terror investigator. Garzon alleged that ETA was not just made up of armed commandos but also had support through political, financial and media organizations. The defendants were accused of belonging to these groups, some of which have been outlawed.

The organizations, such as banned youth groups called Ekin and KAS, engaged in activities ranging from fundraising and helping ETA plan attacks to organizing street violence by ETA supporters, Garzon has charged.

~ ~ ~