A 41 year old man (J.A.U.O.) was arrested at his home in the Trintxerpe district of Pasaia (Guipúzcoa) this morning accused of landing a punch on the town's former mayor, socialist councillor, Bixente Itxaso.

The attack occurred at the Town Hall last Monday immediately after the council had voted in favour of a motion calling for the resignation of ANV councillors over their refusal to condemn ETA violence.

Socialist ex-mayor attacked after ANV censure vote
By: thinkSPAIN
Tuesday, June 3, 2008

Pasaia town council became the twelfth in the Basque region to debate - and the third to approve - a motion jointly tabled by the PNV and PSE parties proposing the forced resignation of ANV mayors and councillors who refuse to condemn violence.

The debate was marred throughout by constant noisy interruptions from a crowd of radical protesters in the public gallery, shouting insults such as 'murderers', 'fascists', 'Spaniards', 'torturers', and 'PSOE and GAL are the same' aimed at the PP (1), PSE (5) and PNV (2) councillors whose votes ensured the motion was passed - all five ANV councillors voted against while the only representatives of the Ezker Batua and EA parties both abstained.

As the socialists were leaving the meeting room after the debate had concluded, one of the protesters managed to land a punch on former socialist mayor, Bixente Itxaso (photo, centre), that opened up a nasty gash above his eyebrow.

Speaking afterwards, PSE spokeswoman, Izaskun Gómez, blamed mayoress Maider Ziganda (ANV) for failing to control her party's supporters, and vowed that the person responsible for the attack, a prominent local separatist sympathiser, would be prosecuted.