MADRID, Jan. 22 -- Three suspected members of the Basque separatist group ETA have gone on trial for allegedly plotting to kill Spain's King Juan Carlos. Prosecutors in Madrid charge the three men planned to kill the king with a sniper's rifle as he stood on the deck of the royal yacht Fortuna when it was moored in Palma de Majorca.
They say one gunman 'had the king in his sights on three separate occasions but did not fire because the escape plan was not ready.' The three men had rented an apartment overlooking the port just 250 yards from where the yacht was docked. The prosecutors' report says they planned to carry out the assassination on Aug. 13, 1995. They allegedly had instructions to aim first at King Juan Carlos, then at his son and heir, Prince Felipe and finally at the then opposition leader, Jose Maria Aznar. Aznar is now prime minister. The Basque group ETA has killed more than 750 people in its 28-year fight for a separate state along the border of Spain and France. ---
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