Madrid - Spanish police arrested 13 suspected members of a group supporting the Basque separatist movement, ETA, in sweeping raids across the country early yesterday, the interior ministry said.
About 200 police carried out raids in nine cities, including Bilbao, Pamplona, Vitoria, and San Sebastian, to arrest the 13 members of Gestoras Pro Amnistia, a group that supports imprisoned ETA members. The raids - jointly named operation Udazken, the Basque word for autumn - began late on Tuesday night and lasted early into yesterday morning, while police also carried out an extensive search of the group's headquarters in Bilbao. The 13 were charged with "membership of an armed group", as part of a wide-reaching inquiry into ETA supporters started by Spanish investigating Judge Baltasar Garzon three years ago.