Amnesty condemns Basque police ‘excessive use of force’ towards Gaza flotilla activists

The Basque country police force detained four people at Bilbao airport in northern Spain on Saturday, including two activists from the Gaza-bound flotilla who had just returned home after being abducted by Israel. 

Video footage circulating online showed police officers violently beating activists and their supporters with batons, sparking outrage.

Amnesty International condemned what it described as the “excessive use of force” by Basque police officers at the airport and called for “effective accountability” over the incident.

“The images published show no legitimate cause for the use of force,” Amnesty added in a statement, raising concerns about the use of batons against people “already knocked down” on the ground.

The Basque regional police, the Ertzaintza, which is administered separately to the Spanish police, has launched an internal investigation into the officers’ conduct, according to a statement.