Madrid - Judge Baltasar Garzon, the high-profile magistrate who served an extradition writ on Gen Augusto Pinochet, found himself in conflict with his judicial colleagues this week over his controversial investigation of organisations he alleges form part of the Basque terrorist group, ETA, writes Paddy Woodworth.
Mr Garzon claims that a political group known as Ekin, as well as several cultural and youth formations, are actually part of the core structure of ETA. Last Wednesday he moved to ban Ekin, which he describes as ETA's "political apparatus". The same day, however, two other judges in the same court modified his writ remanding in custody 14 Ekin members and released seven of them.
The Interior Minister, Mr Mariano Rajoy, has expressed his "disappointment" at the releases, and strongly supported the line being pursued by Mr Garzon.
Civil liberties and human rights activists, however, have expressed concern that the logic of Mr Garzon's investigation is the criminalisation of radical groups and their members, without concrete evidence of their links to terrorist activities.