01/08/2008
A Spanish court began investigating on Monday whether a suspected member of the armed group ETA was mistreated during his arrest at the weekend.
Doctors at Donostia hospital in the Basque Country city of Donostia-San Sebastian found Igor Portu had a broken rib and a punctured lung, the Basque Country Health Service said.
Interior Minister Alfredo Perez Rubalcaba said Civil Guard police had acted correctly when arresting Portu and another suspect who were stopped in a rural area on Sunday. Four police jumped on the men after they tried to escape.
"The Civil Guard had to use force and that caused different injuries to the two ETA suspects," Rubalcaba said. "The arrests I've just told you about were carried out scrupulously in line with our anti-terrorist legislation."
However, the suspect was not taken to hospital until 15 hours after he was arrested. According to the suspect's relatives and the organization in defense of the Basque prisoners Askatasuna, Portu was looking tired but in good condition during the search on his house, some hours after the arrest. Mayor of Lesaka Koldo Erkizia also reported having seen the suspect in good condition.
A Donostia-San Sebastian court opened an investigation to determine whether Portu was injured illegally, a court official said.
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