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Judge jails Basque politicianMan linked to ETA charged with inciting violence in SpainFrom Al Goodman RELATED
SPECIAL REPORTYOUR E-MAIL ALERTSMADRID, Spain (CNN) -- A Spanish judge late Wednesday ordered a politician linked to the Basque separatist group ETA jailed on charges of inciting violence, a court official said. Bail for Arnaldo Otegi, leader of the outlawed Batasuna party, was set at $300,000 (250,000 euros), the court official said. The Batasuna party is widely considered to be ETA's political wing, although it denies the connection. Last week ETA declared a "permanent" cease-fire for the first time in the organization's 37-year-old campaign for Basque independence. Otegi has declared himself to be a key "interlocutor" in the potential peace process. ETA is blamed for more than 800 deaths and is listed as a terrorist organization by the United States and the European Union. The cease-fire, which took effect last Friday, has raised hopes across Spain for an end to the violence. Several mainstream Basque politicians earlier Wednesday urged that Otegi not be jailed. The prosecutor, who before the cease-fire had sought unconditional prison for Otegi, on Wednesday lowered the bail level to $120,000. The judge opted for a higher amount. Otegi was charged with inciting violence, including two small ETA bombs on March 9 during a strike to protest the deaths of two ETA prisoners in jail. No injuries were reported from the blasts. Otegi denied any link to the violence and told the judge there is now a "real opportunity" for peace, Spanish media reported. The hearing for Otegi at court, which began late Wednesday afternoon, was closely watched in Spanish political circles for a sign of how tough authorities would be on a potential important figure in the nascent peace process. Otegi had been due to appear before Judge Fernando Grande-Marlaska at the National Court in Madrid before ETA declared its cease-fire on March 22, but the hearing was delayed due to Otegi's "respiratory illness," the judge said in an earlier ruling. Two other Batasuna leaders have been jailed in connection with the March 9 violence; a third was freed on bail. Otegi already was free on $480,000 bail from his indictment last year in a case which the same judge is investigating, allegedly linking Batasuna and ETA. The bail of $300,000 set Wednesday would apparently be in addition to the earlier sum. Talks focus on peace process strategyOn Tuesday, Spain's Socialist prime minister and the leader of the opposition conservative Popular Party held their first direct talks on the cease-fire, aiming to achieve a consensus on how to broker a lasting peace, despite their often bitter political disputes. "We're facing a long and difficult process," Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero told reporters after the meeting. "But that process will be much more efficient, and will get the results we all want, and faster, if there's a minimum common denominator among the political forces and especially with the (conservative) Popular Party." Zapatero said last week that if the government verifies that ETA is fully respecting the cease-fire, then he would go to parliament before the summer to seek authorization to hold talks with ETA. Earlier on Wednesday, a different judge at the National Court ordered pretrial jail for one ETA suspect who was arrested Tuesday but released another man. The two men were the first ETA suspects arrested since the cease-fire went into effect. Analysts say the police crackdown in recent years in Spain and in France has helped push ETA to the point of a cease-fire. There are about 500 ETA prisoners in Spanish jails and an estimated 140 to 150 others in France jails, sources tell CNN. ETA -- which stands for Basque Homeland and Liberty in the ancient Basque language -- wants an independent homeland that would include four provinces with Basque traditions in Spain and also a portion of southwest France. But Spain, France and the European Union have all said they don't want an independent Basque state. 
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