A convicted Basque terrorist fighting attempts to have him extradited from Northern Ireland to face charges in Spain has been granted bail and ordered to report to police daily.
Extradition proceedings against Inaki de Juana Chaos were launched before the Recorder’s Court in Belfast after the 53-year-old surrendered for arrest by agreement.
He has been living in west Belfast for the last six weeks following his freeing from jail in Spain in August.
The Spanish authorities issued a European arrest warrant to the Police Service of Northern Ireland last Thursday for his arrest.
The Eta member is wanted for allegedly writing a letter to be read out in his name encouraging the continuation of the armed struggle for an independent Basque state.
He was released from prison in the summer after serving a lengthy sentence for his involvement in a bombing campaign in the 1980s during which 25 people died.
He was first released after 18 years in 2004 but then rearrested and ordered to serve another three.
Barrister Stephen Ritchie told Recorder Tom Burgess the arrest warrant states that on the day of his release on August 2nd this year Chaos gave an unidentified woman a letter to be read out in his name urging a continuation of the armed struggle.
He said it was contrary to Articles 27 and 28 of the Criminal Code in Spain.
He said the equivalent offence within the UK jurisdiction under the Terrorism Act of 2006 was the encouragement of terrorism.
There was legal argument over whether the Spanish offence carried the necessary three-year sentence required for automatic extradition.
Defence barrister Sean Devine told the court his client did not consent to extradition and would fight it.
He branded the documents provided by the Spanish authorities as a “fundamentally flawed arrest warrant”, and added: “The Spanish Government have clearly made an error in law.”
He questioned if the extradition warrant was legitimate and whether the Spanish authorities were simple seeking to question his client or whether they wanted to take a case against him.
The extradition application was based on a letter which his client denied writing, which was not in the hands of the Spanish authorities and which had been read out by a someone whom the Spanish authorities were not aware of the identity of.
If a prosecution did ever take place it was “doomed to failure” he said, adding “It does not hold water”.
He questioned whether what the Spanish had put on the extradition request was even an extraditable offence.
And he said Chaos had, through his Belfast lawyers, written to the Spanish authorities denying he had authorised anyone to speak on his behalf.
Mr Ritchie , objecting to bail, said Chaos and his wife had arrived in Northern Ireland fairly recently and had no roots there.
“He has been convicted in the past of the most horrendous offences. There is a real risk this man will not turn up for a hearing.”
Mr Devine, however, said his client had co-operated fully with the authorities in Belfast and had gone to the court willingly and would continue to do so.
“When he left Spain there were no outstanding charges against him”, he added.
The Recorder said he was granting bail under a series of conditions.
Chaos was order to live at an address given to the police and present himself at the door of the property as and when police called; submit to a curfew from 8pm to 7am each day; report to police each day; provide a £5,000 surety; hand over his travel documents and remain in Northern Ireland for the duration of the bail
The case was adjourned until November 28th.
PA