The murder of his son has not been punished. On the contrary, the police chiefs of that day have been elevated at the level. In Colombia, fighting for the truth without silencing has brought him 25 arrests, four attempts at attack, constant death threats and exile. He is a referent in Colombia in the movement against police barbarism, the father of the student and youth movement in the area. Even though he is now far from home, even though he reluctantly knows that his struggle is in Colombia.

Who is Yuri?

A father who works 24 hours a day for human rights, I do everything for my son's sake. The struggle makes sense of my life, I'm an old wrestler, a lone wolf, because I sing endlessly, and although I'm always surrounded by friends, I feel alone on the way.

You've been kicked out of the house.

I've had to leave because I want to survive, especially to know the truth about my son's murder. This has forced me to leave the country with disgust, the political situation in Colombia is the culprit. Almost all of our politicians have to do with drug traffickers and paramilitaries, and through the army and police they are constantly begging the people. They've killed my son, so as I don't calm down, I've had to flee.

How has your life changed from 1 May 2005?

My life is divided into two, before and after that day. Before, he was an insurance agent, a newspaper reader, a father who looked at the world from home. From the moment my son was murdered, I have seen the dark truth of this country, how violence, silence and impunity are used, the lies of mass media to protect murderous politicians... It has found a different world, a world with many raw truths. Before I forgot everybody. Now, starting from my son's memory, I have in my head all those killed and disappeared, day and night.

I hear people in social mobilizations claiming “truth, justice and solution” on the streets of Colombia, but the government says the same thing.

There is no truth or justice, and as far as the solution is concerned, the Government offers the victims crumbs of bread in the hope that everything will be settled. Internationally, the Juan Manuel Santos Government has sold that it is doing something to help the victims, but they only offer us a small amount in exchange for our silence. We want a symbolic solution, we want to know who killed our relatives, how they were killed, where the corpses are, and the guarantee that they will not be repeated again.

What about the police word?

They're killing machines. They remind me of all those who have murdered, all those whom I knew and which I will never know, of the impunity of all these cases, of the dangerous murderers that the government pays with our taxes ...

Does impunity define Colombia?

Indeed, in every letter of Colombia impunity is internalized, in every action, in all police or military operations, in violent massacres, in elections, in murders ... This word crosses our landscape from north to south.

You're already a referent for the Colombian student movement.

I don't want it, because I'm not a student or a young person. The reference has been, above all, the work in favor of Nicholas’ memory. We have worked very hard with young people, because knowledge is the only valid weapon that will change things, the only one that serves us to protect ourselves from impunity and to deal with the oppression that they must suffer every day. All of this has made me a reference, I have always sought refuge for them, when the riots begin with the police I stand before them, I prefer to stop rather than take them. I work tirelessly not to stigmatise the struggle of students and young people that is absolutely necessary.

With Nicholas's picture in his hand, on the marches in Colombia, you tell the students that you see your son in their eyes.

Of course! When I see them singing, I see my son singing, and when I see them dancing, falling in love, laughing, being sad ... Everywhere I see Nicholas, otherwise it would be much harder for me to go ahead every day. When the young people scream down the streets the names of the friends who have died, they recover some of the dead. When in their excitement and in their struggle, in the search for truth, they demand a dignified education... This was all my son had, that's what gives me strength.

They have made him pay not to shut up.

Many times I say I don't have to pay anymore, but I'm getting removed a little more, I didn't know there was a little more. I was taken away by a unique son, destroyed my personal life, distributed to the whole family, dismantled my work and social life... And, as if that were not enough, I have now been robbed of the right to sleep in my country. I have paid everything without having anything, and I no longer know what else I have to give to the Colombian State, but I get the bill for every action I take against silence.

Are you afraid?

Yes, I don't think who says he's not afraid. In the fight, there's no Batman or Superman, we're all the people we feel, and when we feel it, there's fear. But there are two kinds of fear: the one that kills us or blocks us, and the one that gives us the strength to push and scream. This second is the fear I have.

Now you have the opportunity to come to Euskal Herria and see what happens here.

I had heard of a number of things, but the truth is that I was rather surprised. I believed that barbarities occurred in other countries, not in the centre of Europe. I have seen facts about Kukutza, false testimonies of tortured detainees, dispersion of political prisoners... It reminds me terribly of my country, so we are closer than I thought earlier in terms of repression.

Is there a globalized police brutality?

No doubt. Police brutality, multinationals and the lack of power in the hands of the few, all of that is globalised. To maintain those power pyramids, they need a kind of policeman to keep quiet everything that opposes those power systems. They learn in the same schools and disseminate and learn new systems of violence applied in different countries. Even though the local uniforms are different, police brutality is global.

Will we therefore have to globalise solidarity?

Students from Colombia sing: “If they globalize impunity, we will globalize resistance.” They are convinced that by uniting everyone, this resistance is going to become stronger and stronger. In every place the reality is different, but we all have the same struggle behind us, we are brothers, so we need solidarity, because otherwise they will end up with us. Solidarity is not giving away food, clothing, money, books or computers, solidarity is something else; if something happens in Euskal Herria, for example, taking people to the streets of Bogotá. I am excited about the commitment and solidarity you have with Colombia.

Finally, what gives meaning and strength to a State victim to move forward?

The case is different, although perhaps within it is very similar. In my case it is love, dignity, solidarity and respect. When my son was killed, I just wanted revenge, over time I understood that things have to be done for love, which is the father my son met and admired. And love is my vitamin to move forward. Remembering my son gives me strength and every time I get a young man out of the police station, I feel like I do with my son what I could not do. I run in all demonstrations to calm things down in disturbances or prevent arrests, I give every hour of the day so that nobody ends up in the hands of the police, because I know well what happens when you are served by these uniformed people.