Court to rule in August on ETA suspects

An old man walks past graffiti depicting the logo of Basque separatist group ETA in Goizueta in this May 25, 2005 file photo. Three suspected members of the Basque separatist group ETA will hear on August 17 whether they are to be extradited to Spain to face terrorism charges, a court said on Friday.

LONDON (Reuters) - Three suspected members of the Basque separatist group ETA will hear on August 17 whether they are to be extradited to Spain to face terrorism charges, a court said on Friday.

Ana Isabel Lopez, Zigor Ruiz and Inigo Albisu, arrested under a European warrant in Sheffield in April, are accused by Spanish authorities of planning to set off a bomb in the city of Santander.

The Spanish arrest warrant accuses them of being part of a "reserve" cell of ETA, a militant Basque group that has been fighting for a separate homeland for more than 40 years.

The three, who remain in custody, seemed relaxed during their four-hour appearance at Westminster Magistrates' Court in London.

Defence counsel Richard Gordon argued there was no detailed evidence against them and that a confession implicating Ruiz in an attack on a Spanish naval base in February 2006 had been obtained from another ETA suspect under torture.

Prosecutor Melanie Cumberland rejected the allegations, stressing that Spain was a signatory to the European Convention on Human Rights.

She also disputed arguments that the three, all Basques, were being prosecuted for their political beliefs.

"Spain is a trusted extradition partner," she said.

Both parties said they would appeal if they lost the case.