Rightists make uproar in court as trial ends

Press, 28 February 1980, Page 9

Rightists make uproar in court as trial ends

NZPA-Reuter Madrid The trial of five ultraRightists accused of involvement in the “Atocha massacre” of Communist lawyers has ended in uproar with blue-shirted youths giving the Fascist salute and singing the Falangist anthem, “Face to the Sun.” The defendants, also wearing the blue shirts of the Falangist Party, joined the demonstrators in the singing as they were led to the cells after the seven-day hearing. The five are accused of involvement in the January, .1977, killing of four Communist lawyers and an assistant. The killing takes

its name from the Madrid suburb in which it happened. After two days of sum-ming-up by defence and prosecution lawyers, the trial was adjourned for the verdict and sentencing by the five-judge tribunal. A verdict is expected in about a week, legal sources said. As the accused, for whom the State prosecutor hao de- ; manded jail terms from six to 54 years, left the court, ; about 100 members of the i public gallery began the protest. Two of the defendants, - free on provisional liberty, joined the demonstrators as i they marched into the street : chanting “Franco, Franco.” i

The “Atocha massacre” took place during a week of political violence which the Government said was an attempt to provoke the military to halt Spain’s transition to democracy. Lawyers for the victims, who’brought a private prosecution and demanded a total of 918 years in jail for the accused, contended during the trial the attack was aimed at sabotaging democracy. But the State prosecutor said a three-year judicial investigation had shown only that the lawyers were killed by gunmen sent to settle an account with a Communist strike leader.