Basque leftist leader Arnaldo Otegi sentenced to 2 years in prison

Spain''s National Court has convicted a former Basque leftist leader of defending terrorism and sentenced him to two years in prison.

Arnaldo Otegi, a one-time leader of the outlawed Batasuna party linked to the armed group ETA, was tried in January on charges that he defended terrorism while paying homage to an imprisoned ETA member in 2005.

Otegi is currently in jail on provisional charges of trying to reform Batasuna. He also served 15 months in prison in 2007 for defending terrorism at a similar ETA rally.

The sentence released Tuesday also bans Otegi from holding public office for 16 years.