Eta suspect escapes jail by swapping places with his brother

A suspected Basque terrorist escaped from a high-security prison in Paris by switching places with his brother who was visiting him.

The switch at Sante prison took place on Saturday but was only discovered yesterday, prison officials said. The escaper, Ismael Berasategui Escudero, is a suspected member of the Basque separatist movement Eta. He was arrested on 14 May in southern France. The brother who took his place in prison could face charges of helping an escape.

The prison director, Alain Jego said: "There is a natural physical resemblance between the two men, which was reinforced by their thought-out desire to slip our guard."

Investigators suspect Eta may have directed the escape. Inmates at Sante get three visits of 45 minutes each a week. Their hands are stamped with invisible ink before entering the visiting room. After every visit, guards are supposed to check the ink is still there.

Spanish authorities suspect Mr Berasategui Escudero of belonging to an Eta cell broken up in December 2001, when he went on the run. Guns, explosives and bomb manuals were allegedly found in his aprtment. The French authorities were holding him on charges of "criminal conspiracy related to a terrorist enterprise".

Eta has claimed responsibility for more than 800 deaths.