The arrival of six members of the Global Sumud Flotilla at Bilbao airport ended this Saturday with Ertzaintza charges and four people arrested. The incidents occurred in the arrivals area when relatives and supporters of the activists broke the police cordon while the newcomers attended to the media and posed for cameras.
According to the Basque Security Department, the arrested, two members of the flotilla and two supporters, are accused of serious disobedience, resistance, and assault against authority. Following the controversy generated by the images disseminated on social media, the Ertzaintza's Internal Affairs Department has opened an investigation to determine if the police action complied with current protocols.
The Global Sumud Flotilla organization denounced what happened as a “violent aggression” against its activists and assured that the police action occurred after a relative tried to cross a barrier to hug one of the group's members. In a statement, the platform maintained that the intervention represents “a demonstration of interconnected global repression” against solidarity initiatives with Palestine.
The police charges also provoked a rapid political reaction. EH Bildu, Podemos Euskadi and Sumar Mugimendua harshly criticized the Ertzaintza's actions and demanded the immediate release of those arrested. From Más Madrid, they also demanded explanations in Congress about the police intervention and asked to clarify if there were specific instructions to act against the flotilla activists.
Meanwhile, about twenty members of the flotilla also landed this Saturday in Barcelona after having been intercepted days earlier by Israel while heading towards Gaza with humanitarian aid. The activists were received at El Prat airport by hundreds of people and political representatives such as Ernest Urtasun and Jaume Asens, in an atmosphere marked by Palestinian flags and slogans of support for the Palestinian cause.
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