Court rejects investigation into Franco-era torture of trade unionist

A Barcelona court has ruled against an investigation into a complaint filed by trade unionist Carles Vallejo accusming six police officers of crimes against humanity and torture. 

The events in question took place when he was detained at the Via Laietana police station in Barcelona in the early 1970s during Francisco Franco's regime. 

After the approval of the Democratic Memory law in the Spanish Congress last year, a public prosecutor's office in Barcelona was able to, for the first time, rule in favor of admitting a case involving crimes related to the dictatorship. 

But the local court rejected the arguments put forward by Vallejo and the prosecution.

Catalonia's Justice Minister, Gemma Ubasart, announced that the government will appeal the decision. 

State's "duty"

Prosecutors on Vallejo's case highlighted the "duty" of the state to investigate possible human rights violations that occurred during the Civil War and Franco era as part of the Democratic Memory law.

"It is not appropriate to dismiss the complaint outright," the statement read. "It is necessary to carry out an investigation of the facts and their context before making a decision on whether or not the legal process continues."

In November 2022, a dozen entities including Irídia and Òmnium filed a criminal complaint in the Vallejo case, weeks after the approval of the Democratic Memory law.

"It is an essential step forward, the result of the tireless struggle of human rights organizations," Irídia said.

Detention and torture

“I started running as fast as possible,” Vallejo recalled in an interview with Catalan News in November 2020. “As they forced me into the unmarked police car, they started to beat me, to humiliate me, to kick me and to hit me… that was all before arriving at the Via Laietana, where I was interrogated and tortured.”

After being tortured for 20 days straight at the police station, Vallejo was sent to the infamous La Model prison. Despite being sent to solitary confinement for a month for participating in a hunger strike with other political prisoners, he says being there was a relief because there was no “direct torture.”

Vallejo was released six months later, only to be arrested a second time and then released again. After that, Vallejo decided to flee to France and then to Italy rather than risk spending 20 years behind bars, as the prosecutor was requesting of him. Valleja wasn't able to return to Spain until a year after Franco’s death, thanks to a partial amnesty.

Yet Spain’s official policy of amnesia means nobody has ever been brought to justice for the war and dictatorship’s crimes. The man who tortured Vallejo, Genuino Navales, was even promoted during Spain's transition to democracy. He was in charge of the Pope’s security during his visit to Spain in 1982 and of safety protocols at the FIFA World Cup held that same year.