Defendants on 18/98 to appear today in Spanish Court

Those defendants on 18/98 who did not appear yesterday in court are going to do it today. Public prosecutor Javier Zaragoza asked for preventive detention for 15 of the 16 defendants who appeared yesterday before judge. The only exception was Xabier Orero, who is now out on bail.

The case

Spain's High Court issued 46 arrest warrants for members of the Basque groups Ekin, Orain, Xaki and Fundación Joxemi Zumalabe suspected by the authorities of having political links with the armed Basque group ETA, judicial sources said on Friday.

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

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, Orain, Xaki and Fundación Joxemi Zumalabe engaged in activities ranging from fund-raising and helping ETA plan attacks to organizing street violence by ETA supporters, Garzon has charged.