Herri Batasuna ( Basque pronunciation: [eˈri baˌtas̺uˈna]; English: Popular Unity; HB) was a far-left Basque nationalist coalition in Spain. It was founded in 1978 and defined itself as abertzale, left-wing, socialist, and supported the independence of the Greater Basque Country.

When was the Batasuna party founded?

The party was founded in April 1978 as Herri Batasuna, a coalition of leftist nationalist political groups mostly originating from Euskadiko Ezkerra initially brought together to advocate for “no” in the referendum to be held that year on the Spanish constitution .

Why was Batasuna banned in Spain?

Batasuna (Basque: [baˈtas̪uˌna]; English: Unity) was a Basque nationalist political party. Based mainly in Spain, it was banned in 2003, after a court ruling declared proven that the party was financing ETA with public money.

What happened to Otegi from Herri Batasuna?

Otegi, like a number of other top-ranks in Herri Batasuna, had been a member of ETA and served several years in prison for bank assault. He is currently serving time in prison for ties with ETA.