The Ertzaintza identifies more than 10 people recording images in Tubacex’s labor conflict
- At least ten people have been identified by depicting in images the action of the Ertzaintza in the labor conflict of Tubacex. Police recording is a right of all citizens and the images captured by citizens play a fundamental role in Tubacex’s indefinite strike.
Tubacex workers have completed 35 days of strike and the struggle, which has lasted five weeks, has left images of all kinds.
The Ertzaintza, for its part, has on several occasions acted against the right to information of citizens. Since the beginning of the indefinite strike, at least ten citizens have been identified by recording images with their mobile phone or camera, including journalists from Aiaraldea Irratia.
In addition, the Ertzaintza has on several occasions rejected citizens who were collecting picket images and journalists from Aiaraldea Irratia: beating media cameras, launching mobile phones, underestimating terms such as "false journalists" or threatening to stop.
The police have even come to record the neighbors who were recording what was happening on the picket from the balconies.
Recording the police is a right
This attitude of the Ertzaintza can set a dangerous precedent. The right to information is a basic right of every citizen. It is not a journalist to document a police operation, as they are active public officials. However, the police action of recent days calls into question the citizens' guarantee of being able to exercise this right.
The Law on Citizen Security, known as the Moorish Law, regulates the right to information and police recording. The rule is clear: you can shoot cops. The use of these images can lead to the infraction, not to the capture of them themselves.
The dissemination of images that "endanger police security or the success of the police operation" shall be deemed to be an infringement. In addition, a possible complaint by the National Police should provide sufficient grounds for these arguments. But the arbitrary application of the Moorish Law will always be there.
The police could identify citizens by the fact that they are recording, in order to investigate the possible subsequent misuse of these videos and photographs. In no case can it prevent the filming of images.
The importance of imaging
The growth of new technologies has put a quality camera on the mobile of every citizen. Thanks to them, many of the police abuses have been recorded, which cannot be picked up by journalists. In the labor conflict in Tubacex, for example, these images are being fundamental for many facts to be documented.
Nine years ago, pending the adoption of the Mordaza Law, the Council of Europe itself said that the law was going to be “disproportionate” and its “great concern”. “This law is a reactionary and conservative absurdity to criminalize street protest and criticism,”... [+]
