Batasuna leader freed on bail in Madrid News
Batasuna leader freed on bail in Madrid

[JURIST] Leader of the banned Batasuna party [Wikipedia entry], the political wing of Basque separatist group ETA [Wikipedia entry], Arnaldo Otegi was freed on bail Friday after two days in a Madrid prison. Otegi was freed after his lawyer put up $400,000 euros to secure his release from the high-security prison. He had previously served a four-year term for an ETA kidnapping and his arrest earlier this week was on suspicion of his role as a "leader in the terrorist network." Otegi's imprisonment came just two weeks after the Spanish government offered to open up talks with ETA [AP report] if it stopped all violence and many see the arrest as an impediment to the hopes of peace in the region. Reuters has more.