THE BODIES of 17 people executed because they opposed dictator General Franco, will be exhumed from a common grave and given individual resting places.
The Republicans were shot in October and November 1939 shortly after Franco was victorious in the Spanish Civil War.
They were buried in Orihuela City’s parish cemetery on the Costa Blanca and will now be exhumed by specialist Madrid company, Drakkar Consultora.
The work will cost almost €24,000 which will be paid by the regional Valencian government.
Permission for the exhumation was obtained from the Orihuela-Alicante diocese earlier this year.
A ceremony organised by the Vientos del Pueblo Cultural Association is held each year in front of a memorial plaque in the cemetery that names all the victims.