It's been 577 days since Carmen Lamela National Court judge linked the incident to "terrorism" and imprisoned Adur Ramírez de Alda, Jokin Unamuno and Oihan Arnanz, among others. Lamela argued that "if released, it is not possible to ensure that no attack or other crimes are committed against the legal property of the victims".

It is 60 days since 50,000 people gathered in Pamplona/Iruña to ask for the freedom of the detainees.

Twelve days have elapsed since the judgment of the National Court in Alsasua was known. 1 of the Criminal Court of the National Court of Madrid The section jury did not appreciate in the fight any crime of terrorism, nor that the defendants have "relationship or participation with ETA". However, despite having ruled out terrorist crimes, the eight young people were sentenced to a total of 79 years in prison for crimes such as "damage, public disorder and threats" and "attack on authority". Only seven days have passed since the morning of 5 June the Civil Guard took over the town and took Jon Ander Cob, Aratz Urrizola, Iñaki Abad and Julen Goikoetxea to jail.

Once again, the coup was appalling. Family members and friends of the young people, convinced that after the trial they could take strength and continue with enough encouragement to move forward. The accusation, however, today does not allow calm, and caused a storm on the eve of the demonstration: The press learned that the Prosecutor’s Office intended to appeal the judgment for “terrorist crimes”. Prosecutor of the National Court José Perals applied for a sentence of between 12 and 62 years in prison for an alleged crime of "terrorist injuries and threats". At the stroke, no one knew that three days later Pamplona would become the center of solidary breathing.

The parents at the head, the people body

"Here are people who have never attended a demonstration. We're all there. This is a tremendous injustice,” says a young man who almost cannot walk along the crowd surrounding the Sadar football camp in Pamplona. The banner “This is not justice” and the images of their sons and daughters have led the demonstration by the Fathers of Altsasu/Alsasua, followed by a multitude of people from all over the Basque Country, Catalonia and other parts of the Spanish State. The organizers have counted more than 80,000 people, one of the most massive demonstrations Navarre has received in the history of this sport.

To defend the justice of your daughter, political, relative or diversity of opinions that justify the problem of our sons and daughters. Yesterday more than 80 000 people joined us calling for JUSTICE. #Altsasukoak ASKE pic.twitter.com/2N6OfUbmSe

— Altsasu gurasoak (@Altsasugurasoak) June 17, 2018

The large avenue of Zaragoza, the 2.5 km of the short demonstration, Txiki Pamplona, has been left in a squeeze. Throughout the tour, shouts of “Altsasukoak aske”, “Hau ez da justizia” and applause have been heard. Mikel Markez, Esti, “Drugs” and Jon Maia sang the song “Altsasu Aurrera” and from the speakers have heard “the best of the worst” protesters who have not reached the Plaza de la Libertad act, after the sequel of Jon Maia has sung a “kiss in the wounds”. The event has ended with a gigantic message “eskerrik asko” on the stage by the relatives of the young people, who have felt the affection and support of the people. This banner, taken with three clubs, has emerged in the opposite direction to the demonstration, passing over the head of the crowd, provoking an emotional applause from thousands of people who have not come to the closing act.

The day after the demonstration, several newspapers have taken the photo of Pamplona/Iruña on the cover. Thousands of messages have also been commemorated on social networks and the buses back have also noted the strength that the organizers have taken.

Four-legged assembly

“Once again we have changed the course of the demonstration,” said Eneko Mendiluze to Aritz Leoz, in the absence of three days for mobilisation. The two arrested are members of the Aske platform and colleagues of Iñaki Abad, detained in Alsasua prison. They say they're tired, like in the last year and a half. They have, however, been fired with a smile and say that they have their forces left over. “This has changed my life from top to bottom,” Leoz explains. Before the arrests took place, some of the people began to work. This has been my priority in the last two years. Leisure has become a luxury.” As has been claimed throughout the process, they say that the case is a “revenge” and that police assembly is the only leg of a table: “We place the assembly in four parameters: legal, political, police and media.” Media assembly is "essential" to create and nurture the accusation discourse, and several media outlets have "built and driven" the story, according to two people.

“For me, the sentence is very significant, as it marks a turning point. It is noted that some State forces want to continue with the dynamics of a few years ago, maintaining the estructura.Esta judgment opens up other avenues for State action: if there is another similar case, they will have the model of Altsasu”, said Leoz. Mendiluze nodded, unable to hide the rage caused by the theme: “We have felt that our friends have been abducted by force.” They think they're in a science fiction movie, and they believe that the arrests earlier this month confirm the clash between reality and fiction.

“They sought to hurt him. We had a very bad time, and it was terrible what we suffered in the village from the day before. The police were moving around the village, in any corner, there were recordings, and it was noticed that something strange was going to happen. However, we didn't want to create the alarm, because sometimes they look for that, to seek conflict. We have demonstrated the ability to avoid it,” said Leoz. Remember the case of Iñaki Abad: “To see how the Civil Guard approached with tremendous dignity, although his excuse was the danger of fleeing. And look at the danger! Knowing that he has done nothing, that the accusations are mere lies, and that the accusers are bullies, he left with all dignity and was arrested. For me that image has become a symbol of that morning.”

“We live the scene of the 1990s at the time of the arrests,” says Bel Pozueta on the four young people who until recently were free. His son, Adur Ramírez de Alda, has been in Soto del Real prison for seventeen months and the case of the young people of Alsasua has become the center of his life: “From the moment I get up to bed again, I have it all the time in my head. In addition, our commitment to communication, exchange and struggle has been total.” Igone Goikoetxea looks at him with complicity, knowing what Pozueta is living: “The issue has become part of our lives. We live little at the moment. But as with bad things, as with cancer, it's your life and you have to move on. At home we don’t have normal conversations anymore, we think everything to help Jokin.” It is the mother of Jokin Unamuno, imprisoned in Estremera prison, France. When they have been with Argia, Unamuno and Ramirez de Alda have been in pre-trial detention with Oihan Arnanz for 577 days.

The two sides of the coin

The Spanish National Court issued the judgment on 1 June, just over a month after the trial ended. Alsasuarras Aritz Leoz and Eneko Mendiluze did not expect these requests for sanctions: “We were hopeful because we saw in a very obvious way that the judgment didn’t make sense. Everyone's feeling was that his assembly was written from start to finish in a script. It was found in the judgment that in this case justice has not been seized at all. That day, many people cried in Altsasu.” However, the suspicion of Pozueta and Goikoetxea was different. Punishments were awaited. What’s more, they know “what the National Audience is”, and they are not surprised by the sentences against their children, because they have “more political proclamations” than other defendants.

“We said after the trial: we have won court, but our lawyers warned us that the National Court is not only judicial, but also political. The aim is to ensure the control, revenge and intangibility of the Civil Guard,” said Bel Pozueta. Goikoetxea has pointed out that the rest of the fathers and mothers "perhaps" received the sentence by surprise, as both the group of Altsasu's parents and the defendants are part of it. Despite their different nature, they share the reasons and the objective of fighting: “This is completely traumatic. If you get in jail for a militancy, you know it can happen. This is completely different: both young people and family members are kidnapped and robbed of life.”

The best for the worst

Igone Goikoetxea announced the day on which the sentence, for which his son was sentenced to twelve years in prison, was normally imposed: “They always give us a little more pain.” However, Jokin Unamuno sent him another message over the phone. He told his mother that, if he was disqualified as terrorism, “he should be happy,” and that from there he could not be worse. She says her son is strong, with the power to grab what comes. In Estremera prison he meets prisoners who do not receive visits or help and who survive without any support. Jokin Unamuno told her mother that, unlike them, they feel the support of an entire village. “Even late, they collect photos of demonstrations and messages of solidarity in jail,” explains Goikoetxea. The four arrested on 5 June have also brought to the cells their solidarity from the street, such as the demonstration on 14 April.

His son gave Goikoetxea a practical exercise: “Make a table with the good and bad things that have brought all of this.” Despite the fact that his son is a prisoner “causes him more pain than anything”, Goikoetxea has highlighted the support received, solidarity and fighting forces: “We’re surrounded by wonderful people.” Even though sensationalist media want to sell that Alsasua is split into two, the reality is different. “The people are more united than ever,” says Bel Pozueta, aware of how difficult the road has been. In this sense, they have pointed out that the manifestations, concentrations and different initiatives they organize are citizens of different ideologies, who not only receive emotional support, but also do so in a sustained way. Faced with this, they only have words of thanks and a clear cry: “Leave Altsasu alone!”