Spain Unable to Indict 8 Men Detained for Travelling to Donbas – Lawyer

MADRID (Sputnik) – On February 27, Spanish police arrested eight citizens of Spain for allegedly fighting in Donbas. They are accused of being involved in murder, the possession of weapons and explosives and acts against the interests of Spain abroad. Those arrested were released after interrogation.

"I believe that this case is completely irrelevant in legal terms, because nothing imputable [against them] exists," Erlantz Ibarrondo, the lawyer of Hector Arroyo, one of those arrested, told Sputnik.

The trial is to take place Thursday, Ibarrondo said, adding that his client was feeling "well" and "calm."

"They have repeatedly shown that they have not participated in any combat, what they have done is recount what was happening in Donbas," Ibarrondo stated.

According to official information, the arrested men travelled to Ukraine in 2014 and later returned to Spain. An Interior Ministry spokesman stated that all the detainees were fighting "on the same side", however he could neither confirm nor specify whether they fought alongside Kiev forces or independence supporters.

Following the arrest, Agustin Rivas, a representative of the Madrid Committee in Support of Anti-Fascist Ukraine, told Sputnik that those arrested were fighting for the Donbas militias.

The conflict in Ukraine began in April 2014, when Kiev launched a military operation against independence supporters in the country's southeast.