Charlie Smith
THE Spanish Supreme Court has halted the reburial of former dictator General Franco with just days to go.
Spain’s controversial Fascist leader was due to be dug up on June 10 from his grave at Madrid’s Valley of the Fallen monument.
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Five top judges ruled in favour of Franco’s family, freezing the move to transfer his remains to the El Pardo cemetery, where his wife is also buried.
This latest twist in the Franco saga comes after 12 months of work by Pedro Sanchez’s PSOE administration to exhume his body.
The National Francisco Franco Foundation and the former dictator’s relatives have, along with hundreds of protestors, tried to stop the plans.
Franco’s family had chosen the La Almudena cathedral, located in a popular tourist area of the Spanish capital.
However, the Government told them it would not be possible due to ‘clear risks for citizen safety and mobility’.
The arguments of his family against removing him from the Valley of the Fallen rested on the ‘irreparable’ damage it would cause.
“Achieving the final objective is more important than the route we have to take,” said Sanchez’s Deputy Prime Minister Carmen Calvo on Monday.
A Government statement said: “This precautionary suspension means that the government will postpone the exhumation until a decision is reached in the coming months regarding the merits of the case.
“The government is convinced that the Supreme Court will throw out this appeal, just like it has done so far with all the appeals lodged by the Franco family.”
