Baltazar Garzón, Spain's top anti-terrorist judge, has ordered a clampdown on the activities of Basque separatists – jailing the mayoress of a big industrial town and shutting down the offices of radical political parties – following a surge in terrorist attacks by the outlawed separatist group Eta.

Spain's Supreme Court will soon decide whether to outlaw Acción Nacionalista Vasca (Basque Nationalist Action, or ANV), the fourth most popular party in the Basque Country in last year's municipal elections.