Madrid ( CNN ) -- A former chief of the Basque terrorist group ETA has been sentenced to 105 years in prison for ordering the assassination of a politician , according to a copy of the court ruling , made public Monday . It is the first sentence in a case involving ETA from the National Court , which handles terrorism cases , since ETA announced last month `` a definitive cessation of its armed activity , '' raising hopes that decades of separatist violence may finally be over . The maximum that can be served in Spanish prison is 40 years , although courts often hand down a longer sentence for terrorist attacks . Spain has no death penalty . In the sentence issued last Friday but made public on Monday , the court ruled that Francisco Javier Garcia Gaztelu , whom Spanish authorities called the military chief of ETA when he was captured in 2001 , ordered the assassination of a Basque Socialist politician , Fernando Buesa . Buesa and his bodyguard were killed in the Basque city of Vitoria in northern Spain in February 2000 when they walked past a vehicle that contained a hidden bomb that was exploded by remote control . Garcia Gaztelu , now 45 , was sentenced to 30 years each for the killings of Buesa and his bodyguard , 13 years each for two people injured in the attack , and additional time mainly for damage caused by the bomb , the court said . The government , courts and police have said they will not halt the court cases pending against ETA operatives despite the outlawed group 's announcement last month . Listed as a terrorist organization by Spain , the United States and the European Union , ETA is blamed for more than 800 deaths in its decades-long fight for an independent Basque state that it wants carved out of sections of northern Spain and southwestern France . ETA 's announcement last month followed a recent push for the group to abandon violence permanently . That effort was led by international figures who include Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams of Northern Ireland and former U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan . Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero termed ETA 's announcement as being of `` transcendental importance '' and a `` victory for democracy . '' `` Ours will be a democracy without terrorism , but not without memory , '' Zapatero said , referring to 829 people killed by ETA and their families . The prime minister said that it would be up to Spain 's next government -- which will be formed after parliamentary elections on November 20 -- to lead the peace process .
Francisco Javier Garcia Gaztelu has been in custody since 2001 . He is found guilty of ordering the assassination of a Basque Socialist politician . He is sentenced to 105 years , but can serve only 40 under Spanish law .