The trial for the murder of Iñigo Cabacas Liceranzu continued between 15 October and 9 November, and after a week, the family and friends of Cabacas have made public a proper reading of the judicial procedure. First of all, they wished to stress that they have been calling for justice for six and a half years until the start of the trial and that, once the trial has started, they have not done so clearly. “The play has been played with the cards marked and, of course, we have not had them because we have no power for it, we are humble citizens,” said one of the friends of Cabacas.

They have also put on the table some points they deem worthy of note since the trial: the testimonies show that the night in which they injured Cabacas there was no mass fight, although the Ertzaintza used this argument to justify its intervention; contrary to what the police said, the witnesses have stated that there was no concealment or launch of objects, so no part of the damage has been found either. Regarding this last point, they have also pointed out the responsibility of other officers who “did nothing to prevent the agents from shooting or to suspend the cargo”.

The balance of justice, unbalanced

According to Manu Cabacas, it is considered "obvious" that the Hearing, the Prosecutor's Office and the Basque Government have acted in favour of the accused. An example of this kind of treatment is the fact that the accused officers were alone on the day of their statement and at the last session of the trial, in addition to offering the possibility of wearing wigs in disguise. He has also underlined the good relationship between the lawyers of the Basque Government’s Department of Security and the defence lawyer. “We pay these attorneys for them with public money,” he said.

Manu Cabacas has pointed out that he has met with the lawyers of the Basque Government and the commanders of the Ertzaintza to prepare the testimony of the accused. They ask the Security Minister, Estefanía Beltrán de Heredia, to clarify how he explains it. “What we have ahead of us is not only a serious judicial process, but also a tremendous political irresponsibility,” he said.

In addition, he pointed out that the prosecution's action was particularly "painful and humiliating", has not been interested and has ended up absolving the accused. According to Manu Cabacas, this guarantees impunity for any police intervention. “When the Prosecutor’s Office called for acquittal, my wife Fina’s words perfectly summarize how we feel: they humiliate us and insult us,” she said.

Skills deficit as a strategy

A friend of Iñigo Cabacas has given some conclusions. The Ertzaintza has intended to give the impression that it is a "mad Police Academy", in order to suggest that it has been a matter of misorganisation and lack of capacity. Cabacas family and friends assure that the image they want to give is a strategy to hide reality. In this sense, he said that "it is not a little," but that "has been lied."

On the other hand, he has assured that the Iñigo and the Cabacas family have been treated as victims of gender violence. "Far from recognition due to victims, throughout the trial we have heard contempt and insults," he denounced. He added that "truth, recognition and reparation are necessary" and that a "unpunished" sentence will not be "acceptable" to Basque society.

The Ertzainas “thought that everything was worthwhile, that they had impunity,” he said. This attitude, he has denounced, reveals what the police model we have, that comes from “previous times” and that “does not correspond to current society”. "It's not our police and we don't want to pay for it with our money. This police model has political decision-makers, that day it had them, and today it has them. They are the ones who maintain and reward this model.” So that what happened to Iñigo does not happen again, they have stressed the need to establish a new police model.

More information on the case of Iñigo Cabacas, here.