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Erkoreka now accuses the death of Maialen Mazón in Vitoria
  • “There has been a chain of communication errors between the institutions responsible for protecting the mayors,” said the Security Minister. On 29 May, the body of Mazón was found dead in an aparthotel and the following day Erkoreka attributed to the woman's decisions the main responsibility for what happened.
Zigor Olabarria Oleaga @zoleaga1 2023ko ekainaren 06a
Mazónen hilketa salatzeko Gasteizen eginiko elkarretaratzea. Argazkia: Arabako Alea

Security Advisor Josu Erkoreka made statements at a press conference after the Governing Council: “There has been a chain of miscommunication between the institutions responsible for protecting wholesalers, which has led to a desperate situation and a disastrous outcome.” The former partner of Mazón is charged with death and violation of the removal order. She was pregnant and when her body was found her three-year-old daughter accompanying her. “It is clear that the institutions have failed, that we have not been able to guarantee and defend Maialen’s life. There has clearly been a mistake. The Ertzaintza will work to analyze what has happened and how protocols can be improved,” he explains. However, it does not specify what those errors are.

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In his first statements, Erkoreka focused on the responsibility for what happened in the decisions of Mazón, explaining that the Ertzaintza contacted her when she had just arrived from Valencia and lived with her former partner in order to leave. In Erkoreka's words, the woman told the Ertzaintza that she felt no danger and that she was trying to turn off the order of removal. “It’s not easy to protect a victim who doesn’t feel in danger,” Erkoreka said.

The murder, its context and Erkoreka’s statements aroused a great deal of anger, and the day after the murder the demonstration organised by the feminist movement in Vitoria was very massive. At the meeting the feminist movement approached Erkoreka: “Rather than giving time to justify themselves, to review the protocols, to identify what has failed, to put in place effective measures and to take responsibility that cannot be ignored by the institutions: repairing and ensuring that it does not happen again”.