Leading member of Basque ETA group returns to Spain after jail term in France

A LEADING member of a Basque nationalist terror group has returned to Spain after completing his jail sentence in France.

Mikel Albizu Iriarte, who headed the political wing of Euskadi Ta Askatasuna (ETA), was arrested in France in 2004.

He and others were later found guilty of theft, extortion and other offences. Iriarte, also known as Antza, was jailed for 20 years and served seven years of the sentence.

The ETA killed an estimated 853 people while operational from the late 1950s until declaring a ceasefire in 2011.

Iriate was the son of one of the group’s founders, a Basque nationalist student.