Two wanted ETA members charged in France
Two wanted members of the Basque separatist group, ETA, have been charged and remanded in custody in France, judicial sources say.
An unnamed French judicial source told media outlets on Sunday that the suspects identified as Xabier Goyenechea Iragorri and Joseba Inaki Reta have been charged with conspiracy to commit a crime, carrying false documents and transporting and owning weapons.
Both of the suspects were detained last week in the southwestern French village of Osses near Spain.
Sources say the pair is suspected of being in charge of logistics in the Basque group.
Media reports indicate that Iragorri, 35, is also wanted by French authorities in connection with the murder of a policeman. Iragorri is believed to be one of the men who gunned down French policeman Jean-Serge Nerin in 2010.
Basque gunmen killed Nerin in a shootout that erupted during a routine identity check on the suburbs of the French capital, Paris.
The murder prompted a quick response by French authorities who detained the then suspected ETA military chief and his deputy.
Iragorri will be one of the six suspected ETA members who are due to stand trial in the French capital in autumn over the death of Nerin.
Over the past four decades, ETA has fought a bloody campaign for an independent homeland in the area in northern Spain and southwest France.
Traditionally, ETA had used France as a safe rear-base for violent attacks on Spain.
In recent years, Madrid and Paris have strengthened cross-border police cooperation and cracked down on the group.
In 2011, the ETA announced it had stopped its armed activities. However, the group has refused to dissolve the organization or hand over its weapons, as demanded by governments in both countries.
ETA is listed as a banned terrorist group by the United States, and the European Union, and has been held responsible for the deaths of more than 800 people in bombings and shootings since the late 1960s.
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