Dozens jailed over links to Eta

Several defendants protested as the sentences were read out

Spain's anti-terror court has sentenced 47 people to prison terms of between two and 20 years over their links to the armed Basque separatist group, Eta.

Those convicted belong to a range of groups that back Basque independence.

Prosecutors had accused them of belonging to, or collaborating with, a banned "terrorist organisation". The trial was the largest ever tied to Eta.

Eta ended its formal truce with Spain's government in June. Peace talks had already failed over a 2006 bomb attack.

Spanish authorities have been carrying out a crackdown on Eta and its support networks. Several Basque political leaders from the banned Batasuna party were arrested earlier this year.

'Heart and entrails'

Wednesday's ruling marks the end of a lengthy trial, itself the culmination of an eight-year investigation.

The defendants were convicted of crimes ranging from financial wrongdoing to membership of a terrorist organisation.

They belonged to a range of youth, social and political groups that ostensibly offered peaceful support for Basque independence.

According to Judge Angela Murillo, however, these organisations were effectively the "heart and entrails" of Eta, raising funds, organising unrest on the streets and even planning terror attacks.

The reading of the sentence was interrupted when several of the accused stood up with clenched fists and sang a Basque nationalist anthem.

Election issue

Eta has been blamed for killing more than 800 people in its campaign for an independent Basque state that would span parts of north-western Spain and south-western France.

Two undercover Spanish policemen were recently shot dead by suspected Eta militants in France and the group has threatened further attacks.

Since the end of Eta's ceasefire, Spain's Socialist Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero has adopted a hard line against the group.

Previously, he had been criticised by the opposition for seeking talks with Eta.

He faces re-election in March and domestic security is set to be a central theme of the campaign, says BBC correspondent Steve Kingstone in Madrid.