EVA FOREST Red Weekly 20 March 1975 ONtO OW panish Soliderity Committee picket of Spanish consulate in Landon last week THOUSANDS OF SPANISH MILIT ANTS are today rotting in Franco's jails, serving vicious sentences and subject to the most barbarous cond itions.
for almost four decades worker and student militants have been systematically murdered, tortured and imp risoned by the dictatorship.
A recent pamphlet put out in Madrid gives graphic examples of the way in which the political opp oncats of the tegine are dealt with are on trial under various charees, ipation in a non peaceful demonsirpropaganda. The prosecution 1s TORTURE There is nothing new in this fact:
A number of militants of the Comm unist Party of Spain (Marxist-Leninist) a window but was dragged back...
incheding illegal association, partic ation", possession of illegal material, demanding that they be sent to jai! for 15 years for these crimes The tortures to which they have been subjected speak for themselves: *Jesus Diaz Gomez. on the finst day of his detention several thugs of the secret police spent six hours beating him up, causing harmatura | bleed ing when he urinales) ...on two cecasions he wus subjected to half hour sessicis of electric shocks with intermittent chumps and progressive raising of the voltage. On one occ asion, hecause of the brutality of his torturers, he threw ltmself towards In the present period of upsurge it is particulary important for the international workers movement to understand the part that political case plays in developing the tighte against the dictatorship in Spain. Throughout the recent upheavals - mess occupations, strikes and inass demonstrations- the cause of the political prisoners has been taken up by the workets in struggle. The general strike movement that swept the Basque country in mid December, involving mote than s quarter of a million workers. placed the demand for an annesty for al political prisemen in the centre of their fight.
Throughout the months of Oct ober, November and December last year, the political prisoners showed they could still take part in the struggle even from the depths of Franco's jails by launching hunger strikes that won massive symputhy across the country and paved the way for this massive solidarity.
Recently, an open latter amuered from the political poisoners int Matrid's infamous Carabanchel prison calb on the working class and the rest of the popular classes and all workers' organistions and parties and. the international prolelatiat and anti-fascist tovement to tight for the release of all anti
Nowhere has the growing working class challenge to the Franco regime