- During the outbreak of the pandemic, a young man went out into the street for mental problems and his mother was approached by an ertzaina on San Francisco Street in Bilbao. The victims are the migrants and thanks to the inclusion in the video of what happened, they have now condemned the ertzaina.
The police abuse that occurred on March 29, 2020 was reported in ARGIA and the video of what happened provoked a great deal of anger on social networks.
Two years later, a court in Bilbao considered that the ertzaina's use of the sludge was not proportional to the case. The resolution took into account the video in which the ertzaina said that before using the porch the mother of the 23-year-old had a punch, but the images showed nothing. “Police officers cannot be given full credibility, simply because they are policemen,” the resolution states.
The agent has been sentenced to a fine of EUR 240 and to pay half of the costs of the case. The defendant must compensate the girl with EUR 105 for her injuries. The Ertzaintza has the possibility to appeal the judgment.
Police racism
SOS Racism Bizkaia welcomed the resolution and underlined the social pressure following the outrage of the video images in the Biscay capital. However, they add that the condemnation is symbolic and does not reflect the “injustice and police racism” suffered by Fatima and his son Salman.