Member of ETA, Jon Iñaki Pérez Aramburu, arrested in Irun

An arrest warrant had been outstanding against him since October 2005 from the National High Court issued under French jurisdiction for belonging to ETA. He is also wanted to serve a pending prison sentence of three years.

Jon Iñaki Pérez Aramburu fled from his home after taking part, together with others, in the throwing of various molotov cocktails at a patrol car of the Ertzaintza [Basque Police Force] in the town of Renteria (Guipuzcoa), causing the car to burst into flames, the driver to lose control and collide with two pedestrians. The five occupants were wounded, one of them extremely seriously.

In 2000, Jon Iñaki Pérez Aramburu was sentenced in his absence by the Correctional Court in Paris (France) to three years in prison for a crime of associating with criminals to prepare an act of terrorism. He was also banned from entering French territory for another ten years.

In December 2001, he was included on a list drafted by the European Union with details on the most-wanted terrorists internationally. Furthermore, in 2002, the US Treasury Department added his details to a list on individuals whose assets should be frozen in that country.

This arrest constitutes a milestone in the collaboration between Spain and France in the fight against ETA, as it is the first time that a member of the terrorist group has been arrested in Spain in order to be handed over to the French judicial authorities for crimes committed in France.

On Saturday, Jon Iñaki Pérez Aramburu will be placed in the custody of the Criminal Investigation Court Number 4 of the Spanish National High Court.