Atocha bloodbath
The 1977 bloodbath of Atocha describes an assassination attempt on January 24, 1977 in Spain on Calle de Atocha near Madrid's Atocha train station .
procedure
The command of the Alianza Apostólica Anticomunista stormed the workrooms of a group of lawyers belonging to the Comisiones Obreras (CC.OO.) union and opened fire on those present. Five people died and another four were shot.
background
The CC.OO. was close to the Communist Party of Spain , which at that time, in the years that followed Franquism , was still banned. There was great unrest in Spanish society at this time: terrorist organizations from various political directions had carried out a large number of murders (e.g. GRAPO and ETA ), and there were large strikes and demonstrations .
Perpetrator
The Atocha perpetrators trusted the security forces to sympathize with them, but in order to calm the situation, the government demanded a determined search for the attackers. Several people were arrested and sentenced to over 450 years in prison. The defendants presented themselves at the trial with blue shirts (the uniform of the Falange ), and many trial observers came to the trial in uniformed to honor the defendants.
According to a CESIS report, Carlo Cicuttini - who in 1972 together with Vincenzo Vinciguerra had committed a bomb attack in Peteano, Italy - was involved in the act. Cicuttini was naturalized in Spain and had lived there since 1972, the year of the Peteano attack.
consequences
On June 30, 1977, the first Spanish parliamentary elections after the Franco dictatorship took place. The Socialist and Communist Parties had recently been legalized and participated.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Miguel González: Un informe oficial italiano implica en el crimen de Atocha al 'ultra' Cicuttini, relacionado con Gladio. In: ELPAÍS.com. December 2, 1990, accessed July 24, 2008 (Spanish).
Coordinates: 40 ° 24 ′ 35 " N , 3 ° 41 ′ 37" W.