The death of the late suspected leader of Basque separatist group ETA in a Paris hospital last weekend was actually a "political assassination", his family claimed at a press conference in Bilbao on Sunday, reports France 24.
Javier Lopez Pena, who used the alias Thierry, died on March 30 officially after a stroke, but he "was doing fine" when his family visited him, his brother Juanma said.
Lopez Pena "did not die of a stroke and did not suffer a brain haemorrhage" -- his death was a "political assassination", his brother said.
"Even today, we don't know what he died of," added the separatist's sister Begona Lopez Pena, accusing authorities of disinformation.
Lopez Pena, who is believed to have become leader of ETA in 2006, had been behind bars in France since 2008, and was on the run for 25 years before his incarceration.
He is believed to have been one of the masterminds of a 2006 car bombing at Madrid airport that killed two people, ending a ceasefire by the banned group.
Read more of this report from France 24.