• It is the first complaint before the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) concerning torture under Francoism filed after the approval of the 2022 Law of Democratic Memory.

Barcelona, 9 September 2025 — Carles Vallejo, veteran trade unionist and president of the Catalan Association of Former Political Prisoners of Francoism — supported by Irídia’s legal team and Gabriela Echeverría acting as co-counsel — has today filed a complaint before the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) over the refusal of Spanish courts to investigate the torture he suffered between 1970 and 1971 at the Vía Laietana police headquarters in Barcelona, in the context of the dictatorship’s widespread and systematic repression.

This is the first complaint submitted to the ECHR concerning Francoist torture since the approval of the 2022 Law of Democratic Memory, which established the obligation to investigate crimes against humanity committed during the dictatorship and explicitly recognized that such crimes do not expire and cannot be amnestied.

Despite this, Barcelona’s Court of Investigation No. 18 dismissed his complaint without carrying out any investigative measures, citing the same obstacles as always: the statute of limitations, the principle of legality, and the 1977 Amnesty Law. The Eighth Section of the Barcelona Provincial Court upheld the decision, and finally the Constitutional Court rejected the appeal for constitutional protection (recurso de amparo).

The application alleges violations of Articles 3 and 13 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which guarantee the right to an effective investigation into allegations of torture and the right to an effective remedy. The text emphasizes that the refusal of Spanish courts to investigate constitutes a blatant breach of the State’s international obligations.

Vallejo was arrested at the age of 20 by the Political-Social Brigade and subjected to 21 days of incommunicado detention and physical and psychological torture as retaliation for his trade union and political activities. Although he has received several official recognitions as a victim of Francoism, he has never obtained truth, justice, or effective reparation.

Currently, more than 100 survivors of Francoist torture remain alive and continue to demand justice. A total of 5,820 individuals and 175 organizations have already joined the campaign “It’s never too late to deliver justice — but it must be now,” which supports this legal action.

With this complaint, Carles Vallejo and memory organizations hope that the ECHR will finally open the door to judicial investigation of the dictatorship’s crimes and compel the Spanish State to comply with international human rights standards.