They call for an independent commission to investigate torture in the Parliament of Navarra
- The Navarra Network of Torturados has been in the Parliament of Navarre this Friday with Jorge Chocarro and Ainara Gorostiaga. They have been received in the Committee on Citizens' Relations.
Jorge Chocarro was arrested and tortured in 1996 and 2002, in the first by the Spanish police and in the second by the Civil Guard. Ainara Gorostiaga was tortured by the Civil Guard in 2002. The Association has opened an exhibition to parliamentarians on the creation of the Navarra Network of Torturados and on the objective of the association once and for all to illuminate torture in Navarre and end impunity.
Once and for all, the tortured Navarros want truth, justice and not repetition, and on that road the country’s tortured census is being prepared. In addition, they request the establishment of an independent commission for the investigation of torture in Navarra. According to the data collected so far, it is estimated that since the 1960s in Navarre some 1,000 people have been tortured.
They also comment on the death of two Navarros due to torture: Antonio Goñi Igoa, who in 1970 committed suicide after eighteen days of torture by the Spanish Police, and Mikel Zabraise, tortured until the death of the Civil Guard in 1985. They recall the judgment of the European Court of Human Rights against the Spanish State for the torture of Igor Portu and Mattin Sarasola, and the decisions of the same court for not investigating the allegations of torture of Oihan Ataun, Jon Patxi Arratibel, Xabier Beortegui and Iñigo González. Along with these explanations, he describes the torture that Gorostiaga suffered in the hands of the Civil Guard.
The Network of Torturados has thanked the parliamentary groups "for the respect and empathy shown in the hearing", and considers that "this helps to build a solid foundation and open consensus in the recognition and reparation of tortured people in Navarra". The Association recalls that on 25 June, on the eve of the International Day for the Victims of Torture, they convened a demonstration in Pamplona, starting from Plaza Baluarte at 18.30 a.m.
In the background video you can see the statements of Chocarro and Gorostiaga before the Ahotsa.info enter the parliament:
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