Spain: Court rejects man's claim of Franco-era torture

A court in Barcelona said on Wednesday (Oct 11) that it had rejected a Spanish man's claim that he was tortured by police during the dictatorship of General Franco. Spanish prosecutors had thrown their weight behind the case and had asked the court to investigate the claim filed by Carles Vallejo, a trade unionist who claimed to have suffered abuses during Francisco Franco's 1939-1975 regime.

Vallejo had made the claims in November 2022. He had alleged that he had been tortured at a Barcelona police station in early 70s for information about his activities.

However, Catalonia's top court decided not to admit the case.

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The court said that the events "fell outside the statute of limitations and were covered by the amnesty", in a reference to a law passed in 1977 as Spain moved from dictatorship to democracy.

"We will appeal," said Catalonia's top justice official Gemma Ubasart in a message on social media.

The decision was denounced by Human rights organisation Iridia which said that it was perpetuating a culture of silence about crimes committed by Franco's regime.

"The refusal to investigate Francoism's crimes is a violation of the right to truth, justice and reparation, and it represents the ongoing perpetuation of a model of impunity which is based on silence and indifference and is still very present within Spain," it said in a statement.

Vlalejo's lawsuit was filed a month after passage of a democratic memory law by Spain's left-wing government to tackle legacy of the 1936-39 Civil War and the dictatorship after that.

Before the passage of the law, Spanish courts had routinely rejected lawsuits filed by victims saying they fell under the 1977 amnesty law or that the time limit for filing criminal charges had passed.

But the public prosecutors in Vallejo's claim said that new legal framework was created by the new law and judge were now required "to investigate alleged violations of human rights" that occurred "during the civil war and the dictatorship".

The prosecutors demanded a probe "into the facts" alleged by Vallejo and "their context". Amnesty International hailed the move as the first time prosecutors had called for probe into torture and crimes against humanity during Franco years.

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Also last month, another man who says he was arrested and tortured by the Franco regime testified before a Madrid court for the first time since the dictator's death in 1975.

Julio Pacheco Yepes, 67, was called to testify after a judge decided to admit his case on grounds it contained "possible" evidence of "crimes against humanity and torture".

(With inputs from agencies)

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