La Séptima denounces the aggression of the National Police against its reporter María Escolar while she was covering live the general strike of 11N: "This cannot be allowed"

María Escolar was reporting live for La Séptima from Madrid's Gran Vía when, according to the network's complaint, the National Police pushed her during the eviction of the protest for the 11N general strike. The 'El Pulso' team reported what happened on air as soon as they received the image of the push through the signal of Pablo Collantes, another of the reporters covering the mobilization.

"They just pushed my colleague María Escolar, we are simply doing our job," was heard live. The team explained that they had been cornered on the sidewalk, with less and less space to move. Escolar continued reporting from the point where they allowed her to remain and narrated before the cameras that she was seeing how agents were subduing several protesters.

The reporter reconnected later with the program 'En Línea' with Sarah Santaolla, who was quite indignant with the scene and demanded: "This cannot be allowed." The journalist explained that the agents had evicted the protesters with blows and shoves that also reached the press. "I want us to continue covering this strike," Escolar said before recounting what she had seen during the intervention.

"I was not the only one attacked, we also saw how people, mostly women, were gassed in the face," she denounced. According to her testimony, some needed assistance from civil protection services. Escolar also said that she saw people with gashes and others who were pushed against the sidewalk benches.

The intervention occurred after hundreds of people gathered at the intersection of Gran Vía and Montera street during the protest day for housing and wages. The National Police carried out several charges to clear the avenue and arrested at least two people. Coverage of the intervention confirms the charges and arrests.

The charges in the center of Madrid came after union complaints about the use of pepper spray against picketers in Mercamadrid and the depots of the Municipal Transport Company (EMT). Comisiones Obreras and UGT announced legal actions for these actions. The general secretary of CCOO in Madrid, Paloma López, put the number of injured trade unionists at 20 in her morning assessment.

The Police must be able to explain why a reporter who was reporting ended up being pushed aside. The law requires proportionality in the use of force and the Constitution protects both the right of journalists to inform and the right of citizens to receive that information. In a police charge, the work of those who are there with a camera allows the public to see how the operation is carried out and demand explanations about what happened.

Escolar continued reporting what was happening from the sidewalk. Before returning the signal to the set, he said that Gran Vía was already clear and that, according to the protesters, the mobilization would continue.