ETA ordered "Bizkaia" unit to attack Spanish judge Grande-Marlaska

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Spanish judge Fernando Grande-Marlaska. Photo: EFE

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The leadership of the armed Basque group ETA ordered a year ago one of its units to keep watch of Spain's High Court judge Fernando Grande-Marlaska while the judge was his holiday apartment in Ezcaray (La Rioja) in order to prepare an attack against him.

According to official sources, Arkaitz Goikoetxea, presumed leader of the Bizkaia unit, would have recognized having received the order from the leadership of the armed group a year ago.

Spanish police on Tuesday arrested nine suspected members of Basque, dismantling its most active cell blamed for a string of bomb attacks and killing a civil guard

The nine people arrested, most in their early twenties, had no criminal record and were working secretly for ETA while leading apparently normal lives, Spanish Interior Minister Rubalcaba said.

Fernando Grande-Marlaska told the press he was "calm" as it was normal to be among the targets of the armed group.