Two Spanish ETA members arrested in London
International and Basque representatives of political parties, social groups and mediators take part in a conference to promote a resolution in the Basque Country, called by the Lokarri pro-dialogue group and presided over by former UN secretary general, Kofi Annan, on Oct. 17, 2011, in the northern Spanish Basque city of San Sebastian.
LONDON, UK – Two Spanish men who are members of the Basque separatist group ETA have been arrested in a dawn raid at a home in West London over alleged terrorist offenses.
According to the BBC, Antonio Troitino, 55 was arrested over offenses allegedly committed in Spain, while Ignacio Lerin Sanchez, 39, was also taken into custody under the Extradition Act. The men, who both appeared on a list of Spain’s most wanted, are thought to have been on the run in the United Kingdom for some time, and are being held at police station in central London.
According to The Guardian, Troitino was convicted of 22 murders in the 1980s, but was controversially released last year after serving 24 years of his 2,700-year prison sentence. The decision was subsequently reversed, but at that stage he had already disappeared and a warrant for his arrest was issued.
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A 38-year-old women as well as other two other men were arrested at the same premises as Troitino and Sanchez for alleged fraud and immigration offenses, the BBC reported.
According to The Daily Telegraph, ETA declared “a definitive end to its armed struggle” for an independent Basque homeland in regions spanning south-western France and north-eastern Spain last October, and called for negotiations with the authorities in Paris and Madrid. More than 820 people have been killed by the group since it began operations five decades ago.