The closure this week by police of Egin, a radical Basque newspaper and its sister radio station was described by the influential Madrid daily El Pais as "a decision of extraordinary gravity, which has no precedent since the restoration of democracy in our country".
The Spanish government apparently thinks so too, though for rather different reasons. The Interior Minister, Mr Jaime Mayor Oreja, warned that ETA might target King Juan Carlos, or the Prime Minister, Mr Jose Maria Aznar, in retaliation for the closure. He was criticised by a Basque nationalist leader for making political capital out of a judicial matter.
The King and the Prime Minister are understood to figure permanently on ETA's death list anyway, so that raising anxiety about their safety in this context suggests a concern to distract the public from other issues.
Egin, with a daily circulation of 50,000, has been a thorn in the side of the Spanish and Basque establishments since 1977, the year that democracy was born, following the death of Gen Franco in 1975. The paper started as a lively, pluralist organ of the Basque nationalist left, and terrorism was often criticised.
Within 18 months, however, control of the paper had been won by supporters of the hardline ETA-Militar, committed to violence in pursuit of an independent and socialist Basque state. Since then, its editorial line has been close to the thinking of the leadership of ETA, and of its political backers, Herri Batasuna. Occasional outbreaks of critical thinking in its columns - in the wake of last year's killing of Miquel Angel Blanco, for example - have been short-lived thereafter.
The paper frequently publishes ETA's statements without critical comment. It may also publish coded commands to ETA units. A document found with an ETA member indicates that the publication of one verse of a song in Egin would order the release of a kidnap victim. If another verse appeared, the victim would be shot.
Freedom of expression is strongly protected by the Spanish constitution. The experience of Franco's censorship, and the media's courageous role in undermining that regime, have made Spaniards particularly protective of a free press.
While no-one (outside Herri Batasuna) would support the use of a newspaper to facilitate terrorist operations, the publication of broadly pro-ETA views would find defenders even among ETA's most passionate opponents. Yesterday, a poll in El Mundo, which usually supports Mr Aznar's conservative government, found that 25 per cent of its readers opposed the closure.
The shutting down of Egin is officially a judicial and not a political decision, though Herri Batasuna argues that such a separation of powers is simply a facade for "repression". Others may wonder whether this "provisional" closure (which could last five years) is not a reflection of government policy.
Mr Baltasar Garzon, the judge who ordered the shutdown on Wednesday, is used to controversy, and is independent-minded. Ironically, his tenacious investigation of "state terrorism" - the use of police-sponsored death squads against ETA - won him some praise in the radical press.
But he has been equally rigorous in probing the legal fronts established by ETA. The details of the Egin investigation are still secret, but it is clear that he has linked documents relating to ETA's finances, seized last May, to the company which runs the newspaper. He also ordered the arrest of 11 of its directors.
While the allegation of coded ETA instructions is said to be taken seriously by Mr Garzon, his main charge is likely to be that Egin's commercial operation was a central part of ETA's financial network, actively involved in extortion and money laundering.
It will be up to the authorities to show, quickly and clearly, that Egin has been the vehicle for criminal activities, rather than unacceptable opinions, if Spain's reputation for an exceptionally free press is to be maintained. Meanwhile, Egin's workforce are producing a makeshift publication, which is not suffering any sanctions so far.