International Human Rights Foundation

Article 28 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights affirms that everyone is entitled to a social and international order where all human rights can be fully realized. Rights on paper mean nothing without the systems and structures needed to uphold them in practice.

IHRF expresses concern over the recent conduct of the Ertzaintza and the deterioration of public-order practices in the Basque Country

PRESS RELEASE · Madrid, 26 May 2026.

The International Human Rights Foundation (IHRF) wishes to express its profound concern regarding the recent pattern of disproportionate conduct displayed by officers of the Ertzaintza, the autonomous police force of the Basque Country in Spain.

Particularly troubling are the charges reported on 23 May at Mendizorrotza stadium, where families and minors were caught up in the operation, and the intervention on 24 May at Loiu airport against activists of the Global Sumud Flotilla.

The IHRF wishes to raise questions concerning the application of public-order protocols, the prudent deployment of anti-riot equipment and the chain of command that authorised force in environments populated by civilians and minors.

Equally pressing is the matter of professional preparation in crowd management, alongside the psychological condition of officers performing high-pressure duties, factors that bear upon the safety of citizens and the dignity owed to them.

The Foundation observes with concern that political responsibility may ultimately rest with the governing coalition led by the Basque Nationalist Party (PNV) and the Socialist Party of Euskadi (PSE-EE), which oversees the Security portfolio.

The IHRF likewise notes with apprehension the growing reports of far-right infiltration within Spanish law-enforcement bodies, a phenomenon that endangers institutional neutrality and the democratic legitimacy of the forces themselves.

The IHRF therefore calls upon the competent authorities to honour the rule of law, to safeguard due process for those detained, and to exercise State authority with the proportionality and respect for human dignity that democracy demands. ■

Photo: © 2026, Mr. Oskar MATXIN EDESA (FOKU Argazki Press).

Media contact: Mrs. María González — [email protected]

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