Mass response to homophobia in Basauri
- Over 2,000 people have focused on the demonstration to denounce the beating received by the 23-year-old Ekain Perrino in Basauri last Sunday.
About 2,000 people have approached Thursday's demonstration in Basauri to denounce the homophobic aggression suffered this Sunday by the 23-year-old Ekain Perrino. Thirteen young people beat him and left him unconscious in Bizkotxalde Square. Perrino’s friends and several groups of the LGTBIQ+ movement have organized the march under the motto “Homofobiari ez”.
The march has started in the City Hall of Basauri and ended in the Plaza de Bizkotxalde. Ekain Perrino has also participated in the march, along with family and friends. On the other hand, several associations of the LGTBIQ+ movement – Koordinadora 28J, Intifada Marika, EHGAM and Sare lesbians – have also joined the mobilisation, in addition to Mayor Asier Iragorri (EAJ-PNV) and representatives of different political parties.
All the participants have stated that this type of aggression is unacceptable. At the end of the march, along with Perrino, her boyfriend has read a statement denouncing the aggression and asking for a solution: "Unfortunately, this is not the first and last case. So I ask you to fight with the whole collective. Homophobia is an unaccepted pandemic and we have to make it known."
In an interview given to the Geuria medium, Perrino himself explained that, after the beating, the situation has become very hard physically and psychologically. Furthermore, he has not wanted to make the aggression public until now for fear. This has been driven by the support given to it by the closest people and those who do not know the subject. Now, he has called for the collaboration of witnesses to capture the aggressors and prevent a recurrence of what happened: “If you’ve done it this weekend, you can do it next day as well. To me, to another.” At the moment, the Ertzaintza has identified nine young people, aged between 18 and 27, who have been injured.
Attack on Sunday
The aggression took place in Basauri’s Bizkotxalde Square when Perrino met his friends and boyfriend. When he walked away from his friends for a moment, several boys beat him up and left him unconscious. “Fucking Maricon” suffered the screaming attack. They also told him that he seemed disgusting. He received blows all over his body, especially in the cabeza.El man had to be taken to the hospital in Galdakao, where he was admitted in serious condition.
