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INPRIMATU
Report the abuse of the Ertzaintza to the prisoner Aitor Esnaola
  • After his father's death, Legorreta's prisoner got permission to be with his family. According to the friends, once in the village they were tied in the police car for five hours, and had the opportunity to be alone with the relatives of the deceased.
ARGIA @argia 2019ko ekainaren 21
Maiatzean gaixorik zegoen aita bisitatu zuen Esnaolak. Argazkia: @jpermach.

The friends of the Basque political prisoner Aitor Esnaola have denounced the treatment given by the Ertzaintza to the prisoner of Legorreta in a letter sent to Berria. A few days ago, upon the death of the prisoner's father, Esnaola asked for permission to be with his closest relatives. The petition was accepted by the Penitentiary Guard of the Spanish National Court, who filed an appeal against this judgment.

Following the usual procedure, Esnaola was first transferred to the Alavesa prison in Zaballa, in Álava. The prisoner's friends have stated that, once in Zaballa, "the Security Council of the Basque Government is responsible for its full compliance".

Friends report that filling this car violated Esnaola's rights: “On Monday, without having brought Aitor to his father’s funerals, he was detained inside the car for five hours, bound, in a corner of the town. The Basque Government and its Ertzaintza did not take the necessary measures to guarantee Aitor’s rights and, consequently, Aitor spent only five minutes with his relatives.”

In the opinion of the friends of Esnaola, the behaviour of the Basque Government has revealed “the most dramatic consequences” of a policy of “cruel” dispersion in itself. They have also denounced that such attitudes "hinder" the ongoing process of political normalisation.

Esnaola visited the father in May

Esnaola's father had been ill for a long time. At the end of May, the prisoner had the opportunity to visit his father in the family farmhouse. The other close relatives also had the opportunity to greet. On the return of the visit, the Ertzaintza cars met with a herd of sheep blocking the road. The Ertzaintza tried to make the tour by igniting the sirens and identifying several people on the spot.