Overview
- Judge Santiago Pedraz ordered the search, detention and imprisonment of José Antonio Urrutikoetxea and issued a new European Arrest Warrant within the Herriko Tabernas investigation.
- The order cites a 2021 Guardia Civil analysis of 14 seized devices, including internal ETA documents and audio attributed to Urrutikoetxea, which the court says indicate a leadership role until 2018.
- The resolution is not final and can be appealed within three days, according to the court filing reported by Spanish media.
- Urrutikoetxea remains under judicial supervision in France, residing in Anglet with relaxed reporting requirements, while a separate French case for alleged terrorist association is pending.
- His defense opposes issuing a new warrant as procedurally improper, while in Spain he also faces major cases such as the 1987 Zaragoza barracks attack for which prosecutors seek 2,354 years.