PARIS (AP) — A Paris court ordered Monday that the appeals trial of former ETA political chief Jose Antonio Urrutikoetxea Bengoetxea will be adjourned because the COVID-19 pandemic prevented key witnesses from taking the stand.
The date for a new hearing was set to September 2021.
The witnesses, diplomats who negotiated for years with Urrutikoetxea, known also as Josu Ternera, were not able to come to France due to travel restrictions imposed by the French government. The trial was adjourned last October for the same reason.
Urrutikoetxea headed Eta for 15 years. The group killed over 800 people during its bloody campaign between 1968 and 2010. Eta declared a ceasefire in 2011 and later disbanded.
Copyright © 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.
