A total of four individuals were arrested at Loiu Airport on Saturday amidst disturbances that occurred during the reception for pro-Palestinian activists returning to Bizkaia after participating in a flotilla. The Ertzaintza detained two members of the group and two sympathizers who came to welcome them, charging them with "serious disobedience, resistance, and an attack on an authority agent".
Moments of high tension unfolded in the arrivals terminal, with several officers from the regional police using their batons. The intervention followed after some activists posed with the Palestinian flag and obstructed the passage of other passengers attempting to leave the area.
Activists described the police action as "disproportionate" and stated they only intended to pose for the gathered media.
Chants of "Atxilotuak askatu!" (Free the detainees!) and "asesinos" (murderers) directed at the Ertzaintza continued for several minutes. Tension escalated when several sympathizers attempted to open a door to prevent officers from taking away two detainees, after which about twenty people staged a sit-in to also block passage.
Sources from the Basque Government's Department of Security confirmed that the Ertzaintza's Internal Affairs Directorate has launched an investigation to "verify whether the agents' actions comply with current instructions".
“"They have ruined a moment of celebration; we have been suffering all sorts of mistreatment, physical and mental, for 72 hours. Two of us had broken ribs, and we arrive here and it's more of the same. They tortured us in every possible way and then gave us more beatings during a moment of celebration, they turned it into a mess."
The reception event was intended to honor about twenty individuals, both from the Basque Country and other regions, who had joined the flotilla and were returning to Bizkaia after being intercepted by Israeli authorities. Some of them reported mistreatment and "brutal beatings".
