Spanish political leader Josu arrested in France after 17 yrs on the run

A long-time leader of the Basque separatist militant group Eta has been arrested in the French Alps after 17 years on the run.

Josu Ternera, whose real name is José Antonio Urrutikoetxea was arrested on Thursday morning in Sallanches during a joint French-Spanish police operation.

The 69-year-old is accused of crimes against humanity and Spain’s Supreme and has been on the run since 2002.

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According to the BBC, Spanish authorities have accused Ternera of taking part in a 1987 bombing of a Civil Guard police barracks in the city of Zaragoza that killed 11 people and injured five children of Civil Guard officers.

ETA, whose initials stand for ‘Euskadi ta Askatasuna’ in the Basque language, killed more than 850 people during its violent campaign to create an independent state in northern Spain and southern France.

His last public appearance was in October 2002, when he spoke to journalists with a Basque separatist ally, Arnaldo Otegi, at the UN building in Geneva.

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