According to the four-year exhumation plans established by the Ministry of Territorial Policy and Democratic Memory, through the State Secretariat for Democratic Memory, exhumations and analysis of the recovered remains of several mass graves in the Ravine of Víznar (Granada) are carried out since 2021 under the direction of Professor Francisco Carrión, of the University of Granada. In addition to carrying out the recovery of all bodies through scientific techniques, it is considered essential to proceed to the dignification of all the victims who suffered the repression.
The Secretary of State for Democratic Memory stressed that “one of the great aspirations of the relatives of the victims is to be able to identify their ancestors and give them a dignified burial. In Víznar, more than 166 bodies have been exhumed. And in the act that has been held, they have been able to deliver to their grandchildren, the human remains of their grandparents so that they can rest definitively with their relatives. With this, the Government of Spain contributes to paying a great debt that Spanish democracy owes to the victims of war and Franco’s regime.” He also stressed that “Francisco and Fermín never lost their dignity. With this act, they will regain the institutional dignity that fascism took away from them. For these victims and their families, we work from the government.”
Along with the Secretary of State for Democratic Memory, Fernando Martínez, the subdelegate of the Government, José Antonio Montilla, the mayor of Víznar, David Espigados, and the Vice-Rector of Postgraduate and Permanent Training of the University of Granada, Ana María García, among other authorities, have participated in the act of handing over the remains of two exhumed victims, as well as the presence of a large number of relatives of the victims and neighbors.
- Francisco Ruiz. Born in Cádiar, teacher and telegrapher. He carried out his teaching work in different towns of the province of Granada. Despite having conservative ideas, he remained faithful to the Republican regime once the rebellion began, being an active visitor to the People’s House (PSOE) during that period. For this reason, he was arrested by members of the rebellious forces and Falangist militants. After three days of captivity at the old school where he worked, Francisco, aged 58, was murdered in the Ravine of Víznar, where he was placed in a mass grave along with five other victims on July 26, 1936. Virginia Sanchez was widowed that day, in charge of five children.
- Fermín Roldán. Born in Granada, on February 1, 1896. With socialist ideas, in 1931 she was part of the executive of the UGT, participating in the constitution of the society of “Casas Baratas”. In 1932 he was president of the Society of Professions and Miscellaneous Trades of Granada and in 1934, a member of the Association of Municipal Officials. In 1936, he presented himself as a candidate for the Popular Front in the elections of deputies to the courts on February 16. He was a member of the Alhambra Lodge, under the name “Work”. After the military uprising, he is arrested and transferred to military units. Fermín Roldán was executed in the Barranco de Víznar on August 25, 1936 in a sac formed by 17 people. He was 40 years old. Mercedes Díaz became a widow and in charge of four children.