[JURIST] Fifty-six defendants appeared in a Spanish court Monday to face charges that they were members of organizations which supported the Basque separatist group ETA [BBC backgrounder], or Euskadi Ta Askatasuna. Various organizations are believed to have provided financial, political, media, and international support to ETA, which has killed nearly 850 people since 1968 and is considered a terrorist group. The defendants, who include leaders of alleged ETA political wing KAS and its successor Ekin, face prison sentences ranging from 10 to 51 years, on charges ranging from tax, accounting and social security matters to cooperating with ETA. The trial, which is expected to last nearly 8 months, is the largest in Spain's history with 56 defendants and nearly 300 witnesses expected to testify. Reuters has more. From Spain, EiTB24 has local coverage.