Five people will be tried on Day 17 in connection with the evictions of the Socialist Bloc of Pamplona
- By order of the City of Pamplona, the police emptied the Jarauta block in November last year, after several days of siege. UPN denounced five people who came to the Socialist Bloc to show solidarity, and EH Bildu, Geroa Bai and Sozialistak-Zurekin have decided to maintain the allegations. Therefore, next Wednesday the trial will be held and at 13:00 the Housing Union of the Region of Pamplona has called the court.
On 12 November 2023 the news was given in Pamplona (Navarra): on Jarauta Street a block was installed under workers control. There were already families and people who had previously been evicted, who have suffered machista violence or have children, and young people who could not get married and people who could not afford a rental for work problems. The block is owned by the City Hall and belongs to the municipal company Pamplona Centro Historical-Iruña Biziberritzen (PCH-IB).
The City Hall responded violently: through the agents of the Municipal Guard, it established an illegal access control and kept the Socialist Bloc under siege for several days. Thus, people inside the house were kept kidnapped for several days, unable to leave the block. After five days of siege, the police evicted the building by municipal order.
The Housing Union of the Comarca of Pamplona has recently denounced that "it has become clear that the City of Pamplona prefers these dwellings to be empty and so to be functional to the housing business that people live in it". It also recalls that both en bloc evictions and access control established "as vacancy companies do" were extrajudicial.
Complaint against five members and conformity of all parties
During the days when the City Hall maintained its site in force, many people went outside the Socialist Bloc to support those inside and show their solidarity. UPN targeted five people and filed a complaint against them. The Housing Union of the Comarca of Pamplona clarifies that the procedure initiated is "the result of a political decision made when it ruled UPN" and "is based on a police assembly".
In any case, "the parties currently present at the City Hall have decided to continue the trial," explains the union. That is, "EH Bildu, Geroa Bai and Zurekin, with the support of the PSN, have rejected the charges." "All parties agree, from right to left, defending private property and criminalising solidarity towards those who defend free access to housing," the union warned.
Criminalised solidarity
The five members will therefore be tried on 17 April at the Pamplona Court. At 13:00 hours the Housing Union has convened a meeting to support the people to be tried. With this judgment, the members of the Region of Pamplona have denounced that they want to "criminalize solidarity": "they want to make the action of the Housing Unions even more difficult, and what they want to punish are the fight against evictions and the organization".
