Estimated read time: Less than a minute
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
MADRID (AP) — A Spanish court has ordered the detention of two puppeteers for allegedly praising terrorism during a performance in Madrid.
In a statement by Judge Ismael Moreno, the court says puppeteers Alfonso Lazaro de la Fuente and Raul Garcia Perez, who worked for the "Puppets from Below" company, had staged a play featuring the "hanging of an effigy of a judge, the stabbing of a nun with a crucifix and several police beatings." It also said the puppets held up a sign saying "Up with ETA," a reference to the banned Basque separatist group.
The show had been commissioned as part of Madrid's Carnival celebrations.
Praising terrorism has been a crime in Spain since 1995. ETA is considered a terrorist organization by Spain, the U.S. and the European Union.
Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.