Labor leader convicted of ETA links sees bail plea rejected

The Spanish High Court on Monday ordered former Basque LAB union leader Rafael Díez Usabiaga to be immediately sent to prison following the 10-year jail term it handed down to him for forming part of the leadership structure of the terrorist group ETA.

The judges turned a deaf ear to Usabiaga's plea to be left in liberty to look after his ailing mother while he appeals the court's ruling. "You can rest assured I will not evade justice," he told the court. Usabiaga had been out on bail of 30,000 euros since April 2010 while the case against him proceeded. The lawyer of the former LAB leader complained he had not been given enough time to prepare his arguments against his imprisonment and had asked for the hearing to be put back.

The presiding judge, however, decided there was a risk of flight, and argued that other members of his family could look after his mother.

Arnaldo Otegi, the longtime leader of ETA's political wing, was also given a 10-year prison sentence at the same trial. Radical pro-independence abertzale members Arkaitz Rodríguez, Miren Zabaleta and Sonia Jacinto received sentences of eight years. Otegi was already in prison in Logroño while Rodríguez, Zabaleta and Jacinto have been behind bars since October 2009. The High Court argued it would be unfair for Usabiaga to remain out on bail when those charged alongside him were already in jail.