"In recent weeks, the citizens' movement for the rights of Basque prisoners has been the subject of an attempt to manipulate and criminalise the extreme right. The objective of all this is clear: to obstruct and block the changes that have taken place in prison policy in the last year," said Sare, referring to the controversies of recent days. "We are starting a new stage: the stage of leaving behind the policy of alienation and the way home to Basque prisoners and exiles."

In this direction, within the Ibilian-ibilian etxera dynamics, Álava has also begun. In two weeks, the Vuelta a Álava organized by Sare Herritarra will walk, on foot and non-stop, over 35 localities of the territory in 45 steps, a tour of 190 kilometers "solidary". This Thursday the details of the route for the Tour de France have been presented.

Route

The Vuelta Solidaria will depart on Thursday 7 October at 14:00 hours from Salvatierra/Agurain, replacing the tour carried out last week in Navarra. Then they will head to Campezo, where after dinner, they will travel the south of Álava.

On Friday, 8, the march will go through Treviño and will arrive at Zaballa prison to hear from inside the prisons demands for the rights of Basque prisoners. In the afternoon, they will travel to Amurrio, where a musical event will be held in the town square. In the evening, they will cross the Gorbeialdea until they reach Vitoria-Gasteiz.

They will enter Vitoria-Gasteiz on Saturday 9 October at 9:30 a.m. There, several agents will take the witness of the Vuelta a Álava and the initiative will end in the Plaza de los Fueros, with a commemorative act.

The return of prisoners and the progression of grades

Two are the main demands of the Vuelta a Álava. On the one hand, the repatriation of all Basque prisoners; on the other hand, the progression of the ranks. "This is the path we have to take in the coming months," Sare stressed in an interview at ETB.

"By law, to the extent that they are Basques, it is up to them to serve the penalty in the jails here. And that, according to the ordinary law that applies to the other prisoners, having served three quarters of the sentence, they have access to leave and parole. We are not asking for any privilege or favour. Like every person who is prey, we are demanding that their rights be respected and that the law be complied with," they added. "After all, we are saying that we are going to put an end to the emergency penitentiary policy that has been in place for years. Like so far, with the strength and the thrust of all of you."