"After 13 months, Amaia has finally spoken," said Joseba Novoa, a couple of Amaia Zabarte who was seriously injured in the match between Real Sociedad and Paris Saint-Germain, which took place in San Sebastian on March 5, 2024. Novoa makes statements after his wife testifies before the judge and explains that it is "a day of great anger" for him: "We've been asking for explanations for 13 months, because my wife was almost killed in front of dozens of gunmen."

Amaia Zabarte was seriously injured at the football match in San Sebastián during the Basque Country’s raids in the vicinity of the Reale Arena. The 44-year-old woman was admitted to the intensive care unit of the hospital in San Sebastián after being hit in the back of her ear by a foam projectile of police officers: her skull was broken in two places due to the blows she received in her head. In November 2024, Zabarte's partner, Joseba Novoa, stated that his wife had been "harmed for life" by the Basque Government.

Although Zabarte’s family filed a complaint, Judge Ana Isabel Pérez Asenjo decided to close the case in May because there were no “known authors” in the investigation of the Police. In November of last year, however, the Provincial Court of Gipuzkoa ordered the case to be opened, arguing that the videos and images that appeared since the case was closed "collide face to face" with the version provided by the Basque Government. In this regard, this Monday, the Real Sociedad’s fans testified before the judge. In fact, in June 2024 the newspaper Noticias de Gipuzkoa published a video in which you can see how Zabarte suddenly falls to the ground and then how a gunman kicks him.

In fact, according to statements made by Novoa on Radio Euskadi on Friday, the border guard who kicked the woman has been identified, who testified before the judge that he "tripped" at the time of the blow to Zabarte's head. Novoa denounced on the radio that it is "unacceptable" for the victims of the charges of the Basque Government to testify for the first time thirteen months after the incident, and asked the Department of Security of the Basque Government to do "self-criticism".

The case of a second woman injured

Zabarte was not the only one who was wounded by the Basque Country on the eve of the match between Real Sociedad and Paris Saint-Germain: Along with the case of the 44-year-old Real fan, the Provincial Court of Gipuzkoa is also investigating the complaint of a woman named Maria, who was injured in the eye by police officers. Despite the decision to close the case the day after the complaint was filed, the Provincial Court of Gipuzkoa finally approved the appeal filed by Maria’s family and decided to reopen the case.

Gathering to demand justice

Impulso Churiurdina held a rally outside the Reale Arena under the slogan Justice for Amaia, ahead of the match between Real Sociedad and Real Valladolid, which took place on March 29. In it, Impulsa denounced that the Basque Country’s aggression has left the Real Sociedad fan with “lifelong consequences”: "[Amaia Zabart's] suffering was not only physical, because justice wanted to end the play by filing her case."