roxana ferllini 2014

H U M A N R I G H T S I N V E S T I G AT I O N S I N S P A I N

Roxana FerlliniForensic Anthropologist

The crimes perpetrated against Spanish civilians during the Spanish Civil War (1936–39),and under Franco’s regime (1939–75), are considered within some quarters as constituting aSpanish holocaust (Preston 2012), leaving in its wake innumerable clandestine burials withinthe mainland and island territories. However, there existed afterward a situation in whichno retribution was made available for those who survived the turmoil, and likewise for thefamilies of the victims, leaving a section of the Spanish population without access to means ofa process of transitional justice. Investigations into the extrajudicial killings, and the recoveryand identification of remains via the application of forensic anthropology did not come aboutuntil 2000, when a scientific approach to finding the disappeared was applied. Within the lastdecade and up to 2012, forensic anthropology has aided in the recovery of thousands of skeletalremains, albeit under difficult and far from ideal circumstances; the exhumation of a commongrave located in Izagre, Leon province, and the subsequent attempt to identify the recoveredvictims will be presented as an example of the difficulties encountered. The exhumation andbiological profiling of the victims has created a positive outcome within many families andsome areas of society; nevertheless, at present, the dire economic situation of the country hascaused the cessation of field or laboratory work. [extrajudicial killings, Spanish Civil War,historical memory]

As a consequence of changes within the social and political landscapes of Spain during theearly 20th century and up to 1936, a path was set that would eventually ignite the SpanishCivil War (Preston 2006). This conflict raged until 1939, resulting in the loss of hundredsof thousands of civilian lives, and would eventually give rise to a political dictatorshipunder Francisco Franco, who was successfully sustained for the following 36 years, until hisdeath in November 1975. Under Franco’s regime, and shortly before his death, civilianscontinued to be subjected to brutal treatment, including imprisonment, torture, andexecution, often based on charges of hearsay, or by simply expressing different ideas fromthose proclaimed by the regime (Preston 1995; Rigby 2000). Living within this situationfor several generations inflicted a heavy toll on Spanish society, not only with respect tothe thousands of casualties that resulted, but also from the perspective of psychologicaldamage inflicted upon the surviving victims and family members. Furthermore, thesocial fabric of Spain was ruptured, creating a divide between those who were pro-Francoand those who proclaimed justice, albeit having to keep silent for fear of reprisal, evenafter Franco’s death and well into a proclaimed state of democracy (Fernandez 2013).

ANNALS OF ANTHROPOLOGICAL PRACTICE 38.1, pp. 65–80. ISSN: 2153-957X. C⃝ 2014 by the American Anthropo-logical Association. DOI:10.1111/napa.12042

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The regime is considered to be one of the most violent and cruel within contemporaryEuropean memory (Gonzalez-Ruibal 2007).

These events left in their wake a myriad of clandestine mass graves, scattered through-out the Spanish mainland and associated territories, and well over 110,000 individualsclassified today as disappeared (Cadena Ser 2013; Gassiot 2008; Ruiz 2009). Most werekilled via extrajudicial executions and reprisal killings, with the minority from death inthe battlefield (Rigby 2000). This perspective is reflected within the statistics providedby Etxeberria (2012), who stated that exhumed victims from the Spanish Civil War cor-respond to 88 percent associated with extrajudicial killings, 10 percent killed while incustody, and 2 percent dying in combat.

Families who were directly affected by this loss of lives were also trapped withinthe circumstances of its aftermath; scores of relatives knew where their loved ones hadbeen buried, through personal knowledge, oral accounts from actual witnesses, thecollective memory shared within a given community, while others only possessed basicknowledge based upon vague, contradictory, or fragmentary information. However,families were entirely powerless to effect a resolution of the issue, due to the threat ofreprisals to which they would be subjected if they attempted to recover the remainsthemselves, as communities and families were left politically divided (Fernandez 2013).These circumstances created a wall of silence, with the subject never being dealt with,which necessitated many to lead a double life; what was discussed within the home andan alternate persona that was portrayed to the outer world (Cadena Ser 2013).

Since 2000, investigations of the violation of human rights springing from theseevents have been conducted through various nongovernmental organizations (NGOs).The process has not been easy, and has encountered persistent resistance from bothlocal and central governmental agencies with respect to dealing with permits, access toinformation, and obtaining adequate funding.

B A C K G R O U N D

Upon Franco’s death, some dared to attempt crude exhumations, with no scientific ap-proach applied during the process, and no proper scientific examination of the remains.These individuals relied solely upon information obtained regarding the past events, thenames of those who had died and the locations in which they were buried. The exhuma-tions were often carried out under a shadow of fear; in essence, family members were leftwithout any fundamental manner of recourse or proper assistance stemming from gov-ernmental or private organizations. However, in 2000, formal efforts commenced withina systematic framework, which allowed the implementation of forensic archaeology, an-thropology, and genetics, when 13 victims, summarily executed during the Spanish CivilWar were exhumed at Priaranza del Bierzo, in Leon province, and positively identifiedthrough DNA analysis (Silva and Macıas 2003). It was at that juncture that forensicanthropology became an integral element in the investigation of human rights abusesperpetrated in Spain during the Spanish Civil War and Franco’s fascist regime, spanning

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39 years of terror (Gassiot and Wolfe Steadman 2008). Yet, applying the discipline haspresented numerous challenges, as will be discussed in this article.

The case at Priaranza del Bierzo presented an opportunity to create the Association forthe Recuperation of Historical Memory (ARMH), an NGO, based in Ponferrada, alsoin Leon, which acts upon requests received from family members (ARMH 2013; Silvaand Macıas 2003). From that juncture, other organizations were created throughoutSpain, including some of the same name but not related to the original one. In 2002,the association State Federation of Forum for the Memory (Federacion Estatal de Forospor la Memoria 2013) was created with the aim of gathering the historical memoriesof Spaniards who fought against fascism, to inform of the atrocities committed, andinvestigate clandestine graves. Additionally, the Society of Sciences Aranzadi (Sociedad deCiencias Aranzadi), dedicated to scientific research and based in the Basque country, hasalso participated in the rescue and identification of victims throughout various regionsof Spain (Aranzadi 2013; Montero-Gutierrez 2009). Within these organizations, nationaland foreign volunteers have become involved, including forensic experts, aiding with therecovery of the victims, the identification processes, and also in conserving the historicalmemory (for further information on these topics consult Barragan and Castro 2004;Montero-Gutierrez 2009; Silva and Macıas 2003).

The creation of these NGOs throughout Spain has permitted family members a pointof contact when seeking guidance and aid in locating their loved ones, via an organizedprocess.

W O R K I N G C O N D I T I O N S

As a result of sustained efforts on the part of affected citizens and NGOs dedicatedto investigating the disappearances and locating the remains, the Spanish governmentprovided funding through the Ministry of the Presidency, albeit somewhat late in coming,in order to support work conducted in the field and within laboratories. This article willbe based principally upon the work conducted by the ARMH based in Ponferrada, withwhom the author has actively participated over several field seasons.

In common with other like associations, the ARMH has always relied on the inter-vention of volunteers in the field of archaeology and anthropology, even after fundingbecame available through the Spanish government. The funding permitted the purchaseof basic forensic anthropological equipment, archaeological tools, four paid members ofstaff, and a leased van, plus the covering of expenses incurred before, during, and aftereach case is investigated. Such a manner of operation is required to meet the necessarydemands, as the association could not afford to pay salaries to all of those involved, basedupon the amount of money provided on a yearly basis.

Volunteer work has been reliant on Spanish individuals, many of whom possessdisappeared relatives, in addition to foreigners who are aware of the situation in Spain,and are willing to donate some of their time. Most of the said volunteers are from variouswalks of life, and do not possess any background in the field of archaeology, includingbasic field work techniques; yet some have been involved in so many exhumations,


that they have become able to practice sound techniques when handling the remains.However, in relation to laboratory work and the examination of the exhumed victims,this function has always been conducted by volunteer forensic anthropologists.

The association follows a set of guidelines as proposed by Fondebrider (2002),Etxeberria (2012), and Rıos et al. (2010, 2012) that promotes that each investigationbe carried out through archival records (civil, military, penitentiary) and interviews. Inthe latter case, direct or indirect witnesses to the events can be involved, as a way to gatherpreliminary information. Exhumations, postmortem examinations, and the productionof a final report are produced by the ARMH, with the allocation of a final resting placenormally accomplished in accordance with the concerned families.

The search for archival records is at times performed either by voluntary culturalanthropologists, or by interested citizens; on many occasions such work encounters strongresistance on the part of public institutions, with some actually refusing to cooperate,although it is the right of every citizen to request such records. Furthermore, interviewingwitnesses or individuals who possess knowledge of the events is frequently problematic,as many are hesitant, and upon occasion refuse to cooperate in providing any informationdue to the elements of fear and peer pressure. An example of such setbacks includes theinability to access burial sites, either due to the lack of support from local individualsor members of the local government, who do not wish such matters to be investigated.Furthermore, in the experience of the author, there was one occasion in which a particularcitizen refused any type of intervention to be conducted within his property. When suchcircumstances arise, there is not much that interested individuals can do to force theissue, other than to take the matter to court, which can take years.

Ideally, the forensic anthropologist who will be doing the postmortem examinationcan benefit by participating in the exhumation process (Malgosa et al. 2010); however,because the forensic work is provided on a voluntary basis, the anthropologists may nothave the opportunity to be present during the actual fieldwork. In such circumstances,challenges do arise from time to time, in cases where there have been serious difficultiesencountered during the exhumation process itself, and where an interpretation wouldhave been ideal while the bodies were in situ. Furthermore, the analysis of the recoveredhuman remains has not always received the same level of attention because the differentorganizations that have become involved in these efforts have access to a variety ofdifferent infrastructures. In the case of the ARMH in Ponferrada, there had been astruggle with obtaining an adequate laboratory, but at the end of 2008, and after muchperseverance, a space with a basic infrastructure was allocated by the University of Leonat Ponferrada.

P R A C T I C I N G F O R E N S I C A N T H R O P O L O G Y

When identifying the victims, a multidisciplinary approach is highly recommended (Rıoset al. 2010); there have been cases in which the statements from witnesses and relativeshave not been as accurate as expected or hoped for, or when subsequent DNA analysishas failed to provide a positive match between victims and the alleged families. Another


problem encountered with the identification process involves the poor state in whichmany of the remains are discovered, which precludes any attempt at applying genetictests (Cardoso et al. 2008). Finally, there is the issue of money; in some instances thereare no funds to conduct the required genetic analyses. In some of the cases in which theauthor has been personally involved, the ARMH has offered the families a crosscheck ofthe details of their case, in conjunction with investigations conducted in the field and theresultant forensic anthropological report; if the concerned relatives feel comfortable withthe findings, they can agree upon the victim(s) as being “identified,” and move towardthe process of burying the remains. However, due to the lack of adequate infrastructure,no samples are retained if funding is made available at a later time for conducting genetictests. This situation places the forensic anthropologist with an enormous amount ofresponsibility when it comes to “identifying” the exhumed remains. It is stressed herethat the forensic anthropologist’s role in normal circumstances is to biologically profilethe remains, but not to provide a positive identification.

Furthermore, when analyzing the bodies, the question arises as to which set of stan-dards to apply. These are important issues to consider, as it is well recorded within theliterature how standards based on a given population can provide skewed results whenapplied to another (Congram and Wolf Steadman 2008). A clear example of this typeof issue can be identified with respect to the biological profiling conducted on victimsresulting from the war in the former Yugoslavia in the 1990s. The analysis of Bosnianvictims demonstrated just how crucial it is to apply population-specific standards; forinstance, Djuric et al. (2007) found that the use of the Suchey–Brooks aging methodutilizing the pubic symphysis was not accurate when applied to Bosnian victims; further-more, Ross and Konisberg (2002) stated that stature results were underestimated whenusing Trotter and Gleser formulae (Trotter and Gleser 1952) on the Balkan population.

Concerning the modern Spanish population, there have been research studies relatingto different diagnostic criteria, with the aim of obtaining biological parameters for theidentification of human remains (Barrio et al. 2006; Belmonte 2012; Prieto et al. 2005;Trancho et al. 1997). In addition, there have been reports of the applicability of standardscoming from other populations during the biological profiling of victims from theSpanish Civil War (Rıos et al. 2008, 2010). However, the author is not aware of anyformal studies having been conducted to establish how effectively any of the standardsutilized perform with respect to the analysis of victims of the Spanish Civil War.

In the experience of the author, no guidelines were provided with respect to the normsof diagnostic criteria to be practiced and applied, leaving it up to the volunteers to devisetheir own approach (Ferllini 2012). Under these circumstances, it leaves the participatinganthropologist having to decide which standards to use while biologically profiling theremains, without the knowledge if there are any approaches that have been tried withbetter success over others. Additionally, in the event that protocols are requested in thefuture for legal purposes, it would be ideal to adhere to a cohesive approach toward theidentification process throughout the various laboratories, otherwise defense attorneyscould use any discrepancies arising to their advantage.


Rachel Ceasar

Rachel Ceasar

T H E I Z A G R E C A S E

The following is based primarily upon the official report by the ARMH (2008–2009),and oral information received by the author pertaining to the case of a mass grave inIzagre, Leon. Two victims are specifically mentioned here for the purpose of illustration,with the name of one of the victims being changed.

Based upon oral accounts from various individuals, and information obtained fromarchival records, it was known that 11 citizens, 1 woman, and 10 men from La Baneza, Leon,were taken to San Marcos de Leon on October 9, 1936. Some of these individuals facedcharges for events that transpired in July of the same year—a public protest held againstfascism demanding the rule of law and democracy; others were considered “problematic”due to their political affiliations, or their involvement in public office. A number ofrelatives made efforts to follow and verify what was happening, but no transportationwas available for them on that particular day. However, two sisters managed to travel toSan Marcos de Leon the following morning; when they arrived, they were told that theindividuals were no longer there, and to inquire at another prison.

On the same day, laborers on the way to work in the fields discovered the 11 bodieslying along the roadside; as soon as the news reached the town of Izagre, also in Leonprovince, several individuals made their way to the site to see what had happened. Amongthe dead, they noticed a woman wearing a cap, with her hair shaven while in detention,who was most likely Marıa Alonso Ruız. Furthermore, only one individual, DomingoGarcıa Castro (not his real name), was found in possession of a national identificationcard, fountain pen, and wedding band.

The bodies were buried where they were found; yet, the relatives were not able to reachIzagre until a few days later; by then, the only thing they could do was to take note of thearea. For many years the land owner was paid by the families of the victims in order notto have the area farmed, and the site was marked with stones for future reference. AfterFranco’s death, and just over 40 years since the executions, one of Garcıa’s daughters,thanks to her political connections, had succeeded in opening the grave to recover herfather’s body in order to provide him with a dignified burial. At that point, the bodieswere skeletonized, and it was nearly impossible to determine with exact precision whichbones belonged to Garcıa’s body by untrained individuals; but as stated earlier, his bodyhad been associated with several unique items, and it is believed that some local personsmight have had knowledge of his position within the grave. Due to these circumstances,it is also believed that while the body was recovered, it is most likely that some of Garcıa’sbones were left behind; concurrently, bone remains belonging to another victim couldhave been taken by mistake.

In September 2008, a search was conducted at the area where they were buried, now awheat field, to locate the mass grave containing the remaining ten individuals. Althoughthe road next to the grave had not been disturbed since then, and the mass grave locationwas known to many, it took some time to locate it by utilizing a mechanical digger. Inthe process, the digger displaced some of the bones along with the soil, several of whichwere damaged, in particular, that of body number six. In spite of the disturbance caused


F I G U R E 1 . Body within mass grave. Arrows point to the remnants of a pair of leathershoes (photo by ARMH).

by the digger, the skeletal remains were discovered in two distinct levels, maintaininganatomical integrity, which allowed them to be numbered adequately. The remains wereaccompanied with a good quantity of personal belongings, remnants of clothing andaccessories, including leather shoes (Figure 1), belt buckles, cufflinks, fabric, jewelry, a setof eyeglasses, with projectiles also being located (Figure 2). Such a quantity of materials isnot always the case, either because they have been stolen by the perpetrators at the timeof the crime, or due to the intervention of taphonomic factors within the environmentof the grave, especially in such cases when more than 70 years have elapsed.

In this particular case, the bones were in good condition and in various degrees ofcompleteness; nonetheless, in the case of body number six, due to the damage receivedby the actions of the digger, extra care and time had to be devoted during the sievingprocess.

When the author became involved with the case, the bodies had been in storage forseveral months. The work within the laboratory was challenging, as the various boneremains that had been dislodged and damaged by the mechanical digger came from


F I G U R E 2 . One of the projectiles found within the mass grave(photo by ARMH).

different body sections, were in varying degrees of fragmentation, and were packagedwithin the same box. This dictated that these bones had to be sorted with the aim ofconfirming compatibility with each of the numbered bodies, by the means of noting theinventory and bone morphology of each case (Bass 2005). Furthermore, the number ofbodies exceeded the available facilities within the laboratory, and as such, this situationtranslated into having to repeat the process as more bodies were laid out for analysis.Additionally, it was thought that the incompleteness of some of the remains might bedue in part to the prior exhumation process conducted by the Garcıa family.

Furthermore, as the author was not present during the exhumation process, it wasdifficult to absorb the context in which they were exhumed based on photographicrecords alone, hence creating a challenge during the process of assigning the dislodgedbones to each of the skeletonized bodies. Finally, as in every case, the services of theforensic anthropologist were provided on a voluntary basis, dictating that time was ofthe essence, as there were other cases waiting to be processed.

The biological profiling was accomplished by utilizing well-known standards withinthe discipline (Buikstra and Ubelaker 1994; Scheuer and Black 2000), as had beenpracticed in previous cases by Spanish forensic anthropologists. Of the ten victims, sevenwere determined to be male, two as possible males, with the latter results based onlyupon femoral measurements and cranial fragments. Body number six could not be sexeddue to the lack of diagnostic bones, as it was represented only by incomplete lower limbsand a small skull fragment, but could be presumed as belonging to Marıa Alonso Ruız;furthermore, a female ring had been found in context with this particular body. Withinthe bones removed by the digger was a fragmented right os coxa (Figure 3), which gavea morphological indication as being female; the auricular surface had sustained somedamage on the cortical bone, but it was estimated to be between Phases II and III, which


F I G U R E 3 . Right os coxa found within the soil removed by the digger andassociated to body number six (photo by ARMH).

provided an age range between 25 and 34 years (Lovejoy et al. 1985); Marıa had been32 years of age at the time of her death. Upon further cross-checking with the otherbodies, this particular os coxa could only be associated with the said body, as whenarticulation was attempted with each of the other nine bodies or accounting against eachinventory, no matches were possible.

With reference to trauma, eight presented gunshot wounds to the head (Figure 4),with the remaining two victims being too incomplete and fragmented to permit anaccurate determination of trauma or the cause of death.

Once the biological profiling had been accomplished, the results were compared tothe list of victims, and the known age, height, and any other particular characteristicsthat the families might have provided. It is the author’s preference to assist in discussingthe possibilities pertaining to which profiles appear to best approximate each victim’sdescription, but not in making the decision as to identifying the individual by name.DNA was not an option due to budget constraints, and as such, the profiling constitutedthe limit that the identification process was going to permit.

During the sieving process, an earring was discovered that closely matched in designthe ring located in context with body number six (Figure 5). The search continued forthe matching earring; concurrently, the historian who had organized the exhumation


F I G U R E 4 . Partially reconstructed skull exhibiting two entrancewounds to the head (photo by ARMH).

F I G U R E 5 . Ring found associated with body number six, and matching earringlocated during sieving (photo by ARMH).

contacted Marıa’s sister, who instructed them to stop looking, as she had the otherearring in her possession; on the day that Marıa had been arrested, she had an infectionon her right ear, so she left the corresponding earring behind. Since her death, Marıa’ssister turned the earring into a ring, and has worn it ever since.


Rachel Ceasar

With reference to the Izagre case, not all profiles constituted a perfect match, assome ages overlapped, and there were no distinguishing characteristics on the bones.The families were informed of the results from the bone analysis, the archival data,and oral statements, in an attempt to tentatively identify each of the listed victims.Based on the information provided, the respective relatives subsequently agreed amongstthemselves to bury each of the remains in individual boxes, but within a communal burialspace.

F U T U R E I N V E S T I G AT I O N S

In September 2011, the Spanish government approved the protocol pertaining to ex-humation and forensic analysis, mentioned in the Law 52/2007 better known as the Lawof Historical Memory (Boletın Oficial del Estado 2007). This law instructs collaborationfrom forensic institutes and universities when required; additionally, the interventionof local governmental institutions is required when permits are needed to conduct ex-humations. Of particular interest here, the protocol points out the need for forensicintervention with the aim of identifying the victim(s), determining the cause of death,the determination of the medico-legal etiology, and the circumstances surrounding deaththrough the intervention of experts in forensic anthropology, forensic biologists in thefield of genetics, forensic pathologists, and forensic odontologists. The law also statesthat when possible, an individual, preferably a forensic pathologist, would coordinateall of the various reports and produce a final summary of the findings (Etxeberria2012).

In 2013, the Spanish Association of Forensic Anthropology and Odontology (AEAOF)published a manual titled Recommendations in Forensic Anthropology, aimed at formu-lating a set of guidelines to be followed by forensic anthropologists, while undertakingcontemporary judicial investigations within Spain. Amongst its recommendations, itpointed out the significance of the appropriate application of population-specific stan-dards, of which particular reference was made to studies conducted on Mediterraneanskeletal collections, with respect to applying the data to the Spanish population (AEAOF2013).

These publications and proposals can be construed as representing positive movestoward constructing a more productive methodology with respect to the profiling ofhuman remains from the Spanish Civil War and the Franco era, and encouraging theadoption of a more standardized process. In consideration of the fact that some pro-fessionals in this discipline are foreigners acting as volunteers, the author recommendsthat the association in which the volunteers are involved should make them aware of thedesired protocols to be utilized during the osteological examination process, in order tomaintain a standard approach.

While there have been attempts at organizing further forensic interventions,Spanish state monetary funding ceased at the end of 2012, signifying that the workof exhumations and identification had ended. One particular family has turned toCrowdfunding for assistance (a system available normally through the Internet, where


individuals can raise money for a given project through a large number of peoplewilling to help by contributing small amounts of money) (Junquera, 2013). Nonetheless,the Spanish government has been ordered by the United Nations Office of the HighCommissioner for Human Rights (UN-OHCHR), through the Working Group onEnforced or Involuntary Disappearances (WGEID), to investigate its own disappeared(Silva and Macıas 2003); the UN-WGEID appealed again in 2013.

Organizations such as Amnesty International have also requested in recent times forthe Spanish state to address the enforced disappearances, pointing out that the SpanishCriminal Code does not fulfill the requirements specified by International Criminal Lawin addressing this issue; furthermore, Amnesty International expressed as shameful, thelack of action on behalf of the Spanish state, and in 2013, sent a communique regardingits concern to the UN-WGEID (20Minutos, 2013).

In recent years, families desiring to end the Spanish state’s indifference toward bringingjustice to the victims, have appealed to the Argentinean judicial apparatus by applyingthe principal of universal jurisdiction (Amnesty International 2013). The Argentineanjudicial apparatus responded positively, and in November of 2013, a number of affectedSpanish families flew to Argentina to provide the required testimony (Publico.Es. 2013);since then, legal proceedings have commenced. In addition, warrants for the arrest oftwo torturers from Franco’s regime have been issued by the Argentineans, but to date,the Spanish judicial system (Audiencia Nacional) has been only effective in providingas much protection as possible to these two individuals, who continue to remain free.Further speculation exists in relation to additional arrest warrants that may eventually beserved, including one against Jose Utrera Molina, father-in-law of the current Ministerof Justice Ruiz-Gallardon (Ferllini 2014; Torrus 2013), relating to alleged human rightsabuses during Franco’s regime.

It has recently come to the attention of the author that during the summer of 2014, theARMH received an unexpected contribution from the Norwegian Union of Electricians,which will permit the association to conduct at least four exhumations.

C O N C L U S I O N

The investigations pertaining to the vast abuses of human rights throughout mainlandSpain and its associated island territories, utilizing forensic archaeology and anthropology,in addition to cultural anthropology, have been late in arriving, with a predictableoutcome of negative reactions on the one hand, and gratitude and positivism on theother. At present, thousands remain disappeared in Spain; however, the investigationsinto the search, location, retrieval, and identification of these victims have come to ahalt, due to the financial restraints imposed as a result of the punishing economic crisisthat Spain is facing. All of the governmental funds that were destined to aid in theseendeavors have been cut (Mason 2012), and suspended indefinitely. Nevertheless, theSpanish government has managed to produce the necessary funds to carry out structuralimprovements required at The Valley of the Fallen (El Valle de los Caıdos), a giganticmausoleum constructed outside of Madrid within a solid granite mountain, where Franco


and some of his dignitaries rest. This monument was constructed in great part by thosewho had been incarcerated and considered “enemies of the state”; in effect, it was builton slave labor, often under extremely precarious conditions, and with the exchange oftheir sentences being reduced proportionally to the number of days worked (Crumbaugh2012).

As governmental financial assistance has halted, thousands of graves that litter thenation will no longer be investigated, and the remains will not be rightly returned tothe families for proper burials according to their requests. The only exception has been aforeign donation that has permitted a few exhumations to be made possible during thesummer of 2014. There is still no reparation or transitional justice to speak of on the partof the victims.

Spain stands second in the world after Cambodia with respect to the number of massgraves within its territory (Junquera 2013), and is the only democratic country in theworld in which governmental bodies have failed to investigate their own extrajudicialkillings. This is primarily a result of the Amnesty Law enacted during the transitionalperiod in 1977, and the inefficiency of the Law of Historical Memory (Boletın Oficialdel Estado 1977, 2007; Stuart 2006). In the case of the Law of Historical Memory, whichwas enacted in 2007, after endless efforts being made by family members of those whowere victims of the Spanish Civil War and Franco’s era, the legislation has not served asa clear means by which to bring transitional justice, mainly due to the fact that Article 7

clearly states that there will be no identification and no legal ramifications toward thoseimplicated in the violations of human rights (Stuart 2006).

In addition, the governmental office for assistance to the victims was closed in 2012.The Ministry of Justice has indicated that the government continues to map the gravesthat have been confirmed, which up until the end of 2013, totaled 2,382. Yet, the variousassociations involved indicate that, of these known mass graves, they constitute onlya small percentage of the actual number in existence (Junquera 2013). According toEtxeberria (2012), the number of mass graves exhumed up to 2011 constituted 278, withthe subsequent recovery of nearly 6,000 bodies, a small number when compared tothe more than 110,000 known to have disappeared. At present, various associations arein possession of requests by families for the search, exhumation, and identification ofthe victims, but these cannot be acted upon due to the lack of adequate funding andsupport. Currently, the necessary work is falling behind, with much still to be completed,while concerned individuals are dying due to their advanced age, without obtaining anymanner of resolution.

N O T E

Acknowledgments. The author wishes to thank Dr. Erin Kimmerle for her invitation to participate in thispublication; to Marco Gonzalez, vice president of the Association for the Recuperation of Historical Memory,for his invaluable help while writing this article. To Mark Goode for his kind assistance in preparing theimages presented here. The work conducted by the author in Spain was under the auspices of the Associationfor the Recuperation of Historical Memory, Ponferrada.


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