The work for the exhumation of 128 victims of the Civil War, most of them retaliated against during the Franco dictatorship, began this Monday in the Cuelgamuros Valley with forensic intervention to search for 18 bodies claimed by their relatives.

This is the first time that an operation of this type has been carried out in the crypt of the chapel of the Holy Sepulcher located on level 0 of what was formerly known as the Valley of the Fallen. And the green light comes after a tortuous judicial process that has overcome various attempts to block it by anti-memorial associations such as the Francisco Franco Foundation itself.

Subsequently, work will continue on levels 1, 2, 3 and 4 of the same chapel in search of 59 claimed bodies, including those of the brothers Manuel and Antonio Ramiro Lapeña, natives of Villarroya de la Sierra (Zaragoza), shot in 1936. by the Francoists and whose exhumation is also mandatory in compliance with a 2016 court ruling.

Once this phase is finished, a second one will begin – until the search for the 128 bodies is completed – in other chapels of the basilica.

This is the case of the Holy Sepulcher, where most of the bodies requested by relatives are located, and whose work will be done “from the bottom floor upwards to consolidate and shore up each of the five floors where there are burials.” Sources from the Ministry of the Presidency, Relations with the Courts and Democratic Memory have reported.

These exhumation works take place “once all the legal, technical and security obstacles have been cleared,” according to the same sources, which assure that they will be carried out “in an act of dignity and maximum respect for those buried there.”

The next of kin were notified this morning of the start of the forensic work, according to EFE, the lawyer for victims of the Franco regime, Eduardo Ranz.

The Government resumed the exhumation work last December with a previous conditioning phase that consisted of enabling access to the columbariums, securing the architectural structures that needed it and implementing the occupational safety protocols “for an intervention of this complexity”. , as explained by the ministry in the notification sent to relatives.

This Monday begins the forensic intervention itself, which will consist of the search and location of the bodies, as far as technically possible, and the corresponding genetic analyzes that may lead to identifications.

“We can guarantee that the forensic experts who will be in charge of this task are prepared and have extensive proven experience in this type of investigation. The forensic intervention will be carried out using internationally recognized protocols and the reference laboratories are accredited in this field. “, underlines the ministry in the notification.

The operation also includes in its last phase the conditioning of the columbariums to improve the facilities and the conditions of conservation of the remains buried there.