Spain's First Franco-era 'stolen Babies' Trial Begins
Fakhir Rizvi Published June 26, 2018 | 07:35 PM
An 85-year-old Spanish doctor will appear in a Madrid court on Tuesday, the first person to go on trial over thousands of suspected cases of babies stolen from their mothers during the Franco era.
Madrid, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 26th Jun, 2018 ) :An 85-year-old Spanish doctor will appear in a Madrid court on Tuesday, the first person to go on trial over thousands of suspected cases of babies stolen from their mothers during the Franco era.
In a dark and often overlooked chapter of General Francisco Franco's 1939-75 dictatorship, the newborns of some left-wing opponents of the regime, or unmarried or poor couples, were removed from their mothers and adopted.
New mothers were frequently told their babies had died suddenly within hours of birth and the hospital had taken care of their burials when in fact they were given or sold to another family.
The practice began after Franco came to power after Spain's 1936-39 civil war pitting left-wing Republicans against conservative Nationalists loyal to the general who was seeking to purge Spain of Marxist influence.
Beginning in the 1950s it was expanded to remove new newborns from poor families as well as illegitimate babies.
The guiding principle was that the child would be better off raised by an affluent, conservative and devout Roman Catholic family.
The system -- which allegedly involved a vast network of doctors, nurses, nuns and priests -- outlived Franco's death in 1975 and carried on as an illegal baby trafficking network until 1987 when a new law regulating adoption was introduced.
Campaigners estimate tens of thousands of babies may have been stolen from their parents over the decades.
- 'Good of the children' - Eduardo Vela, who worked as a gynaecologist at the now-defunct San Ramon clinic in Madrid, is accused of having in 1969 taken Ines Madrigal, now aged 49, from her biological mother, and given her to another woman who was falsely certified as her birth mother and who raised her.
He has been charged with falsifying official documents, illegal adoption, unlawful detention and certifying a non-existent birth.
The trial is scheduled to begin at 10 am (0800 GMT).
Campaigners say at least 2,000 other complaints for similar cases have been filed with the courts but up until now none has gone to trial in a country still coming to terms with the dictator's legacy.
Cases have been shelved due to a lack of evidence or because the statute of limitations had passed.
In 2013 an 87-year-old nun, who worked with Vela and allegedly controlled baby trafficking in Madrid, died before she was due to go on trial.
Vela was interviewed briefly by police after a magazine in 1982 published interviews with several women who claimed they had been cheated of their babies after giving birth at San Ramon but the probe went nowhere.
He told investigators in 2013 that as the director of the clinic he often signed papers without reading them.
Interviewed by the BBC in 2011, Vela grabbed a metal crucifix and said: "I have always acted in his name. Always for the good of the children and to protect the mothers." - 'Stop crying' - Madrigal, a railway worker who heads the Murcia branch of SOS Stolen Babies association, revived the case after reading an article in 2010 about the "stolen babies" affair which listed the San Ramon clinic where she was born as a focus for baby trafficking.
She became suspicious that she was one of his victims and began investigating.
While Madrigal said she did not expect Vela will provide answers about her origins when he appears in court, she told AFP she hoped his two-day trial would mark a turning point that leads the authorities to reopen investigations.
"That would be my biggest achievement. That a door opens here, a door of hope," she told AFP.
Others are not as optimistic.
Cristina Monacha, who never saw her baby boy after being told he had died just days after giving birth in Madrid in 1984, said all Vela "has to do is invoke his right to remain silent and it's over".
She said she was never shown her son's remains or his grave.
"I was told to stop crying, that I already had a 15-month-old daughter that needed me, that I was young and would have other children," she recalled.
Related Topics
Recent Stories
PTI approaches SC to become party in reserved seats
US Congress's resolution on electoral transparency is tantamount to interference ..
Unsung Kimber smashes England bowler Robinson for record 43 in an over
PTI influenced US lawmakers to pass anti-Pakistan legislation, alleges Barrister ..
AJK Assembly demands release of Kashmiri leaders from Indian jails
RCCI-Civil Defence to enhance mutual cooperation
6 NA committees elect their chairmen
Meeting regarding arrangements of monsoon held
Imran’s stubborn attitude, uncivilized agenda main hindrance for talks: Rana
Traders demands to end unannounced electric load shedding
Oil Association urges govt to restore previous taxation level
CM Bugti's policy for youth; a positive sign; MPA
More Stories From World
-
Alarm as troops, tanks deploy outside Bolivia presidency
2 hours ago -
Bid to murder Argentina's Kirchner was for 'social good': suspect
2 hours ago -
Sunak, Starmer clash in final TV debate before election
2 hours ago -
French court confirms arrest warrant against Syria's Assad
2 hours ago -
US top court declines to curb govt contact with social media firms
2 hours ago -
US Supreme Court to allow emergency abortions in Idaho: report
2 hours ago
-
'Breathing smoke': Brazil's Pantanal wetlands hit by record fires
2 hours ago -
Poland to press ahead with multibillion euro airport
3 hours ago -
Serbia and Kosovo talks collapse fails despite EU efforts
3 hours ago -
Fears new 'most dangerous' mpox strain could cross borders
3 hours ago -
US says Assange, now free, had put people in 'danger'
3 hours ago -
US jails ex-Honduras president for 45 years on drugs charges
4 hours ago