Spain overturns Francoist death sentence against anarchist Puig Antich after 50 years

The Spanish government has overturned the Francoist sentence that condemned the anarchist Salvador Puig Antich to death 50 years ago.

He was executed in the notorious La Model prison in Barcelona on March 2, 1974, and was the last prisoner to be put to death by garrote – a device that strangles the victim - by the regime.

The Minister of Territory and Democratic Memory, Ángel Víctor Torres, on Wednesday presented the family of Puig Antich with a declaration of "recognition and reparation" as a victim of the Francoist regime.

The acknowledgment comes after his family's endless struggle to have members of the Francoist regime tried in Spanish, European and Argentine courts for his death.   

"We have been fighting for this for 50 years. For the dignity of our brother Salvador. This moment is very important for us, we are touched and without words," said his sister Imma Puig Antich.

During a ceremony with the family of Puig Antich, the minister said that this recognition is an act of "reparation, justice and truth."

"Salvador was a victim and so was his family. This gesture puts things in the right place. Wherever he is, he will know that today, in a certain way, justice has been done," he said.

Before his execution, Puig Antich was a member of the Iberian Liberation Movement (MIL), an anarchist group that robbed banks to finance its activities.

The activist was arrested in Barcelona on September 25, 1973, after participating in a bank robbery in the northern Catalan city of Girona.

During his arrest, a police officer was killed and Puig Antich was sentenced to death. He was the last prisoner to be executed in Barcelona's La Model prison, which celebrated the 120th anniversary of its opening this year.

To learn more about Puig Antich and La Model, listen to this episode of our podcast Filling the Sink.