Spanish judge shot dead in Bilbao, ETA blamed

A judge was shot dead in Spain's Basque region yesterday in an attack blamed on ETA, just one day after a car bomb also attributed to the Basque separatist rebels injured more than 90 people in Madrid. Two people gunned down Jose Maria Lidon outside his house in the town of Getxo, on the outskirts of coastal city Bilbao, a spokeswoman for the Basque regional government said. “He was driving out of the garage and was shot inside his car. His son called the police,” she said. The assassins fled from the scene on foot, according to witnesses. Outraged politicians immediately pointed to armed Basque separatist group ETA, also blamed by authorities for the Madrid car bomb. Later on Tuesday the police arrested two suspected ETA members thought to be responsible for the last five attacks in the Spanish capital. “I want these ETA killers to know that we are not going to give in to their macabre blackmail, that there is nothing to negotiate. The future of these criminals... is behind bars,” said Carlos Iturgaiz, head of the government's Popular Party in the Basque region. ETA is seeking a separate Basque state, something the government says is not up for negotiation. Lidon, unlike most public figures in the troubled Basque region, did not have a bodyguard and was not on any hit-lists obtained by police. The judge, believed to be in his early fifties, was married with two children, local media reported. His funeral is expected to take place tomorrow. Justice Minister Angel Acebes said ETA seized any opportunities to kill.