The National Court lifts the suspension of the Cuelgamuros exhumations

The Central Administrative Court 11 of the National Court has agreed to annul the extremely precautionary measure adopted on the 14th to suspend the execution of the exhumations in the Cuelgamuros Valley by National Heritage.

Oliver Thansan
Oliver Thansan
21 December 2023 Thursday 15:23
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The National Court lifts the suspension of the Cuelgamuros exhumations

The Central Administrative Court 11 of the National Court has agreed to annul the extremely precautionary measure adopted on the 14th to suspend the execution of the exhumations in the Cuelgamuros Valley by National Heritage.

In an order, the judge adopted this decision after analyzing the allegations of the State Attorney's Office, on behalf of National Heritage, regarding the measure requested by an individual represented by the Christian Lawyers association, whose grandmother is buried in the Valley. of Cuelgamuros, to stop exhumations in a procedure to protect the fundamental right to religious freedom.

The magistrate points out that the allegations of the State Attorney's Office and the documentation that accompanies them show that the exhumations are being carried out in a place different from that where the remains that they are trying to protect rest, "so in principle there would not be a precautionary urgency as immediate as it seems to manifest.”

Furthermore, it explains that from the arguments presented by the State Attorney's Office it can be deduced that the material administrative action does not materially affect the rights that this appeal seeks to defend with respect to the remains of the appellant's grandmother, nor is it expected to happen in the future, in the indicated terms.

Secondly, the resolution indicates, information has been provided that there has already been a written dialogue on the subject between the appellant and National Heritage, where this entity has responded to its request to annul the exhumations with a letter from the manager.

“The content of the document shows that the exhumation action cannot be considered carried out in fact, but rather there is a set of prior judicial and administrative actions, which constitute its support. In short, if the administrative actions challenged do not materially affect the rights invoked and are also not carried out in fact, the precautionary measure whose legal basis was based exclusively on this premise that has been revealed to be unfounded must be lifted,” the judge concludes.

The appeal was raised after last September a Madrid court annulled the agreement of the San Lorenzo de El Escorial City Council by which an urban planning license was granted for the works necessary to undertake the exhumations.

Among some of the appellants who demanded this annulment were the Francisco Franco Foundation and the Association for Reconciliation and Historical Truth.