Al 爱丽丝 🎻🥃💻 (@eblingmiss.bsky.social)

Amnesty condemns Basque police 'excessive use of force' towards Gaza flotilla activists <article data-history-node-id="440911" about="https://www.middleeasteye.net/live-blog/live-blog-update/amnesty-condemns-basque-police-excessive-use-force-towards-gaza-flotilla" class="live-blog-update default clearfix"> <h2> <a href="https://www.middleeasteye.net/live-blog/live-blog-update/amnesty-condemns-basque-police-excessive-use-force-towards-gaza-flotilla" rel="bookmark"> <span class="field field-title">Amnesty condemns Basque police 'excessive use of force' towards Gaza flotilla activists</span> </a> </h2> <div class="content"> <div class="field field-field-text"><p style="line-height:1.38">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. </p> <p>Video footage circulating online showed police officers violently beating activists and their supporters with batons, sparking outrage.</p> <p>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.</p> <p>“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.</p> <p>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.</p> <figure role="group" class="media-block"> <div class="group-inner"> <div alt="A Basque police officer charges a member of the Global Sumud Flotilla upon their arrival at Bilbao airport on May 23, 2026. Idurre ETXABURU / AFP" data-embed-button="file_browser" data-entity-embed-display="image:image" data-entity-embed-display-settings="{" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="90690e67-a7dc-4425-a469-6230475d48d6" data-langcode="en" class="embedded-entity"> <img src="https://www.middleeasteye.net/sites/default/files/000_B3UU9KE.jpg" width="1920" height="1080" alt="A Basque police officer charges a member of the Global Sumud Flotilla upon their arrival at Bilbao airport on May 23, 2026. Idurre ETXABURU / AFP" typeof="foaf:Image" fetchpriority="high"> </div> <figcaption>A Basque police officer charges a member of the Global Sumud Flotilla upon their arrival at Bilbao airport on 23 May 2026 (Idurre Etxaburu/AFP)</figcaption> </div> </figure> <p><span style="background: url("https://www.middleeasteye.net/modules/contrib/ckeditor/vendor/plugins/widget/images/handle.png") rgba(220, 220, 220, 0.5); top: 0px; left: 0px;"><img height="15" role="presentation" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAPABAP///wAAACH5BAEKAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw==" title="Click and drag to move" width="15" loading="lazy"></span></p> </div> </div> </article> https://www.middleeasteye.net/live-blog/live-blog-update/amnesty-condemns-basque-police-excessive-use-force-towards-gaza-flotilla