In an act held yesterday in Almería, the three families received rehabilitation diplomas from the Secretary of State for Democratic Remembrance and from the General Director of the Civil Guard.
The Secretary of State for Democratic Memoryasked Fernando Martinez forgiveness “from the heart of the state” to the relatives of Juan Mañas, Luis Cobo and Luis Monterothe three young Cantabrians who were arrested by the Guardia Civil on May 10 nineteen eighty one when they traveled by car to attend a communion with a relative, who were tortured and killed after being confused by members of ETA.
The bodies of the young people turned out to be burned in the vehicle the day after the arrest at a place in Gérgal (Almería).
In July 1982, the Provincial Court of Almería sentenced Lieutenant Colonel Carlos Castillo Quero to 24 years in prison, Lieutenant Manuel Gómez Torres to 15 years, and guard Manuel Fernández Llamas to 12 years, with the attenuation of “due obedience”. Castillo Quero was paroled in 1992.
The mother and brothers of Juan Mañas and a cousin, Luis Montero, took part in the ceremony held yesterday at the sub-delegation of the Almería government, attended by the General Director of the Guardia CivilMaría Gámez, who pointed out that “those terrible events in Almería should never have happened” and in which “there is no room for justification”.
At the ceremony, the three families were awarded rehabilitation diplomas by the Secretary of State for Democratic Remembrance and by the General Director of the Civil Guard.
Martínez stressed that the government’s “forgiveness” to the families of the victims also stems from “the unjustified abandonment of decades” they suffered at the institutional level.
The families emphasize that “it is a relief for our long and unjustly silenced suffering”
Juan Mañas’ little brother, Francisco Javier Manas -whose communion motivated the journey of Santander of the three young people-, explained that “although too late”, the act was long awaited for them: “It represents an alleviation of our long and unjustly silenced suffering”.
He recalled that although almost 42 years have passed since the “terrible crime”, the pain “does not prescribe”, especially when the life of his brother and his friends was taken from them “in the hands of those who have the obligation to our custody and guarantee our Rights”.
“Three families have survived that pain, with that unbearable record, that misunderstanding, that irreparable loss and all those years of suffering, without anyone from the administration ever giving us an explanation, saying sorry, or telling us not to. .” the unjust has happened,” he said to express the situation of the families, thus focusing on the ailment experienced by María Morales, his 86-year-old mother.
Memory law
The families stressed that they will not give up their efforts so that Juan Mañas, Luis Montero and Luis Cobo “get the treatment they deserve in the recent democratic law of remembrance”.
The law adopted at the end of 2022 proposes and establishes a technical commission to investigate human rights violations during the transition between 1978 and December 31, 1983, identifying possible ways of recognition and reparation. In this sense, the Secretary of State for Democratic Remembrance stressed that the situation of the victims and relatives of the “Almería case” will be studied by this commission.
The ‘Dismembered of Santander’ association promoted institutional recognition in the Parliament of Cantabria in 2018. An act in which ETB interviewed Franciso Javier Mañas:
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Source: EITB
I am Ida Scott, a journalist and content author with a passion for uncovering the truth. I have been writing professionally for Today Times Live since 2020 and specialize in political news. My career began when I was just 17; I had already developed a knack for research and an eye for detail which made me stand out from my peers.
