Belfast Backs Basque

Supporters of a Basque man living in Belfast - the Belfast Basque Solidarity Committee - has called for the case against Inaki de Juana Chaos to be dropped.

The Spanish prosecution service want to see Inaki de Juana Chaos returned to Spain to face charges, as they said the 53-year-old has praised or supported terrorism in a letter read at a rally.

However, Mr de Juana Chaos has instead now been freed on bail.

His lawyers told Belfast Recorder's Court that a European arrest warrant issued against him was "fundamentally flawed" and that he would fight extradition.

Yesterday, a spokesperson for the support group, Kevin Morrison, said: "The case against Inaki de Juana Chaos is an embarrassing one for the Spanish prosecution to be pursuing.

"He has been living openly in both Belfast and Dublin for over four months now and has made himself available to Irish police, the Spanish authorities in the embassy and now in a court in Belfast.

"These actions highlight that Inaki is a man who has little to hide," he said.

De Chaos was ordered to post a £5,000 cash surety, observe a curfew and report daily to police by the court.

A lawyer for the Spanish authorities opposed the release of de Chaos, who was released from a Spanish jail in August after being jailed in the 1980s for 25 murders.

Interpol had been involved in efforts to locate him, and de Chaos is believed to have arrived in Ireland earlier this year.

The Spanish authorities issued a European Arrest Warrant to the Police Service of Northern Ireland last Thursday.

Extradition proceedings against de Chaos were launched before the court after he surrendered for arrest by agreement.

A number of protesters, some opposing Eta and others supporting Basque independence, were waiting outside the Laganside Courts complex before de Chaos appeared.

See: ETA Member To Fight Extradition

(BMcC)