In Pics | Spain begins exhumation of 128 civil war victims from Franco mausoleum
Exhumation of the bodies of civil war victims
The remains of around 34,000 people are buried anonymously in the crypt of the basilica carved into a mountainside northwest of Madrid. Many of these are victim of Franco's regime.
The Spanish government is finally exhuming the bodies of 128 civil war victims. Relatives of the victims have been fighting for years to give their loved ones a burial under their own names and near their families.
Victims being exhumed
The Association for the Reparation of Historic Memory, an NGO representing the victims of Franco, said on Twitter that while Franco's family was able to carry his coffin on their shoulders, the families of his victims had to find out through the media that their relatives were being exhumed.
2,400 unmarked mass graves
Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez came to power in 2018. One of the first policies he implemented after coming to power was passing a law that made it possible for relatives to identify victims who are buried in about 2,400 unmarked mass graves around Spain.
'Law on Democratic Memory' opposed
The opposition conservative People's Party has opposed the so-called "Law on Democratic Memory". The People's Party has also vowed to repeal it if it comes to power in the elections scheduled to be held on July 23 this year.
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