The courts annulled or reduced several fines imposed by the Ertzaintza on 133 members of Ernai in September 2023. On Thursday, the organization held a press conference to announce the first resolution of the appeals filed.
Ernai has assessed “very positively” that a court in Vitoria-Gasteiz has annulled or reduced several fines imposed by the Security Department of the Basque Government on 133 young people and believes that “it has been shown that in those protests in Vitoria and Bilbao, for one side, there were no public disturbances and on the other side the action by the Ertzaintza was excessive“.
The Administrative Court Number 4 of Vitoria has decided to suspend the fines imposed last May by the Basque Ministry of Security for a protest action carried out in the capital Alava by members of Ernai. Moreover, in his ruling, the judge ordered to reduce the amount of fines for another protest held by the same youth movement in Bilbao.
The organization’s spokesperson, Amaiur Egurrolabelieves that the withdrawal or mitigation of the sanctions imposed by the ‘gag law’ in the first three appeals of the 126 appeals filed is important in light of future protests from other popular movements. Similarly, Egurrola has denounced that the Basque government “a campaign against Ernai“.
The events are related to two initiatives by Ernai in September 2023. That day, members of Ernai blocked the road in front of the government delegation headquarters in Bilbao and the Ertzaintza police station in Vitoria-Gasteiz to denounce the entry into Aitor prison . Zelaia and Galder Barbado.
The Ertzaintza subsequently identified 133 people and the Security Service imposed fines on all of them, ranging between 1,500 and 2,500 euros. According to Ernai, these amounts were higher than usual.
In this context, the youth movement decided to appeal individually against the fines and denounced “the disproportionality and partiality of the Ministry of Security”.
The 4th Chamber has decided to suspend the resolutions of the first appeals filed in Vitoria-Gasteiz. An appeal was also filed in Bizkaia, where the court decided to reduce the fines from 2,500 euros to 1,800 euros, as the previous amount was excessive.
Source: EITB
I am Ida Scott, a journalist and content author with a passion for uncovering the truth. I have been writing professionally for Today Times Live since 2020 and specialize in political news. My career began when I was just 17; I had already developed a knack for research and an eye for detail which made me stand out from my peers.
