Guardia Civil takes details of passengers opposed to ‘inhumane’ repatriation

Eleven passengers were stopped and their details taken by Spanish Guardia Civil police on Saturday after they attempted to give support to an illegal immigrant from Senegal who was being returned to his country. The passengers denounced the “inhumane situation” on Monday in front of the press. According to one of the passengers, Mikel Basarte, the man was wearing handcuffs and was suffering severe anxiety. The passengers also explained that the Civil Guard officers evacuated the plane on orders from their commander, who warned them that the flight could not take off while the man was screaming and the passengers on their feet.

The officers took the details of six passengers who had allegedly caused the disturbance inside the plane. They then stopped five more passengers when they were reboarding. The lawyer of the 11 passengers complained of the disproportionate reaction of the police and accused the Civil Guard of choosing the passengers by pointing them out at random and making them responsible for the situation.