in Spain, the crimes of Francoism could soon be judged, more than 50 years later

“It’s a very important first step, it’s breaking impunity for the first time. And that’s historic!” Carles Vallejo was 20 years old in 1970 when he was arrested. The police accused him of having set up an underground union in the Seat car factory. For three weeks, he was tortured in the basement of the Barcelona police station. They tie him up, beat him and stop him from breathing.

For the first time since the end of the dictatorship, and thanks to the new law of historical memory, the Spanish public prosecutor’s office is calling for the opening of an investigation, 53 years later, into the torture he suffered.

>> In Spain, for the first time a victim of the Franco regime is heard by a judge

A law passed in 2022 by the Sanchez government allows justice to investigate the crimes of the Franco dictatorship (1939-1975). The silence imposed by the amnesty law, adopted in 1977, is ending. But Carles Vallejo does not seek to punish his executioners. “It’s a question of restorative justice. I want to know who are responsible. And what’s more, our generation who suffered this traumatic experience, we need psychological reparation. We never had it.”

Put an end to collective amnesia

For all those who continue to demand a trial of Francoism, the prosecution’s request is a first victory, but they have other demands. The police station where Carles Vallejo was tortured in Barcelona is still in operation. “I came to demand that the building of the Spanish National Police be handed over to the population, explains Maria, who demonstrates with other activists every fortnight in front of the building to demand its closure. May it become a space of memory, of memory of the victims of Francoism. This building hurts a lot of people.”

Carles Vallejo now hopes that a judge will agree to investigate the torture he suffered. HAS Through his fight, the former trade unionist, exiled for a time in Paris, then in Italy, wants to pass on the memory to younger generations. According to him, it is about putting an end to collective amnesia.

“It’s not a personal question. We are the last living generation of Francoism and I believe that it is also important for the new generations, to create a democratic pedagogy.”

Carles Vallejo, trade unionist tortured under the Franco dictatorship

at franceinfo

The road to a trial is still long, but this first victory could create a precedent in Spain and other victims could see their complaints examined by the courts.