The prisoner Patxi Ruiz served yesterday his 19th day of hunger strike in the prison of Murcia II in Madrid. According to the EPPK, "following the protest initiated by Ruiz on May 11, the action of EPPK members imprisoned from the very beginning has been to show their solidarity and support them. They also, from the very beginning, transferred their point of view to Patxi and asked him to leave the hunger and thirst strike to prioritize health." The group of prisoners added that they asked him "at first" to put Patxi in the normal module with another colleague. "In view of the continued fighting, Patxi's health was guaranteed and doctors and prison officials were asked to take her to the hospital." On May 19, Ruiz was admitted to a module with three other colleagues and on the night of May 22 he was transferred to a hospital center.

The EPPK qualifies as "very serious" the action of a certain sector in the face of Patxi Ruiz's extreme decision. "When prison conditions put any prisoner's life at risk, we believe that ensuring his or her health is an inexcusable priority for us. In this case, the companions of Murcia II have also done so, and so will those who already knew the situation of Patxi Ruiz firsthand, demanding a solution to the prison leadership. On the contrary, the sector has sought to take advantage of this situation to attack the members of the EPPK, EH Bildu, Etxerat, Sare and Sortu, accusing them of doing nothing to resolve the situation in Patxi and, more importantly, taking responsibility for the general situation. At the same time, they are trying to take advantage of the goodwill of many people who are genuinely concerned about the situation of prisoners."

The EPPK considers that all this suggests that "the real priority of some has not been nor is the attempt to guarantee Ruiz's life and health", but "the possibility of using Ruiz's situation to attack the parties and institutions cited". In order to achieve this goal, the group of prisoners has denounced that "information has been hidden and inventions have been extended to the band". "Because it is more convenient to attack the EPPK and the Abertzale left in general than to seek and work effective ways to help a prisoner in distress and extreme gravity."

Cruel penitentiary policy

The EPKK notes that prison policy aims at "the personal and political destruction and destruction" of Basque political prisoners. "Alienation and dispersion were established with this in mind, and that is why they continue to implement this exceptional policy, always with the intention of making prisoners more vulnerable and more defenceless. Many members suffer physical and psychological illnesses as a result of this brutal prison policy, or are affected by the increase in illness as a result of this prison policy. The current situation of Patxi Ruiz, like that of many other colleagues, is the result of this cruel penitentiary policy of exception".

"Izan Bidea" by Sare

The group of prisoners considered "good news" the resumption of mobilizations, coinciding with the deescalation of the confinement. "We warmly salute the new dynamic of Sare, 'izan Bidea', which wants to make Basque society a journey in favor of the prisoners' return home. At this point, the EPPK and its group set in motion the line to be taken from prisons with the dynamics of the street. That is what we must prioritize, in our view."