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Spanish court convicts 47 of supporting Basque separatist group after ceasefire

Spain's anti-terrorism court convicted 47 people on Wednesday of supporting ETA, as judicial authorities maintained pressure on the Basque separatist group six months after it ended a ceasefire.

The court sentenced them to prison terms of between two and 20 years each after Spain's biggest trial linked to ETA, which lasted from November last year to last March.

The 47 belong to various groups accused of links to ETA, blamed for 819 deaths in Spain over the past four decades in its campaign to establish an independent Basque nation in parts of northwestern Spain and southwestern France.

Anti-terrorist judge Baltasar Garzon, who headed the investigation that led to the trial, believes ETA could not have survived without the support of these groups.

A total of 52 people were on trial, but five were found not guilty.

The 47 convicted received a total of more than 500 years in prison for belonging to or collaborating with a "terrorist organization," according to the ruling read by the head of the court, Angela Murillo, and broadcast on national television.

ETA's political wing, Batasuna, immediately condemned the convictions.

The party's most senior official still at large, Pernando Barrena, accused the government of conducting a "witch hunt against the separatist movement" and a "scorched earth policy aimed at destroying bridges," a reference to an aborted peace process.

The government of Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero ended peace talks with ETA after it staged a car bombing at Madrid airport last December that killed two people.

ETA formally called off a 15-month-old ceasefire in June, saying the Madrid government had failed to make concessions in the peace process and it would now "act on all fronts" to campaign for an independent Basque state.

Since then, Zapatero, who is facing a general election in March, has adopted a hard line against the group.

Just days after ETA's announcement, the high court confirmed a 15-month prison sentence handed down to Batasuna leader Arnaldo Otegi for "glorifying terrorism."

Then in late October, Garzon ordered the arrest of most of the Batasuna leadership.

From 1998 to 2002, the judge had sought to dismantle various organizations suspected of links to ETA and whose members were convicted on Wednesday.
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