Barcelona council files suit against Franco judges for jailing LGBTQ people

Francisco Franco may have died in 1975, but some of the crimes committed under his fascist dictatorship are today still the subject of legal proceedings as attempts continue to find recognition and redress for the victims of his brutal regime.

One of the latest is Barcelona city council's decision to file a lawsuit accusing six judges with crimes against humanity for sentencing over 550 members of the LGTBQ community to prison between 1956 and 1977. The council has the names of the judges but does not yet know if they are still alive.

The victims were all sent to a special unit of Barcelona's infamous Model prison, which was finally closed down in June 2017, and which today is open for the public to visit.

According to deputy mayor Jaume Asens, the judges are not protected by the Amnesty Law passed after the transition to democracy, because people of the queer community was not victimized due to their political beliefs but because of their sexual orientation.

The lawsuit is part of the "strategic litigation" of the city council, which heads the Network of Cities against Francoist Impunity, which since 2015 has joined different cases against Francoist crimes, such as the bombing of Barcelona by the Italian air force during the Civil War.