France handed over a leader of the Basque separatist guerrilla group ETA to Spain on Tuesday to serve out his jail term in a Spanish prison, Madrid said.
Juan Carlos Iglesias Chouzas, convicted of involvement in several bombings in Spain, was brought to Madrid by Interpol agents, the Interior Ministry said in a statement.
Iglesias Chouzas, alias "Gadafi", was arrested in France in 2000 and still had to complete a 10-year sentence for terrorism-related crimes imposed by a Paris court in 2002.
The 42-year-old asked to return to Spain to serve out the remainder of his French sentence as well as three prison sentences handed down by Spanish courts totalling 225 years. Iglesias Chouzas's transfer to Spain comes amid speculation of a possible breakthrough in the Basque conflict.
Spain's El Mundo newspaper said on Monday ETA would announce a truce this year after indirect contacts with the government. ETA, classed as a terrorist group by the European Union and United States, has killed nearly 850 people since 1968 in a campaign for Basque independence from Spain and France.
Iglesias Chouzas is the first ETA member to ask to return to Spain to serve out his sentence, according to a Spanish court official. This option is permitted under a 1983 treaty between France and Spain but is usually rejected by ETA prisoners.
France temporarily returned Iglesias Chouzas to Spain for trial in 2003. A Spanish court sentenced him to 123 years in prison for a 1991 attack against a Civil Guard police station.
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