SPAIN’s prime minister Pedro Sanchez has vowed that ‘hatred, machismo and fear will not prevail’ after a tomb holding the remains of 13 young women executed by a Francoist firing squad was vandalised with graffiti that included death threats towards a female journalist.
The monument, located in La Almudena cemetery in Madrid, was desecrated with red graffiti targeting Sarah Santoalalla, a 28-year-old feminist journalist who regularly appears on popular Spanish radio and TV channels including RTVE, the national broadcaster.
Writing on X with a photo showing the vandalism, the self-proclaimed political analyst said: “The grave of the 13 Rosas has been vandalised with death threats directed at me.
“It is not a coincidence: women murdered for standing up to fascism and refusing to submit. I feel genuine terror.”
The prime minister was among those to offer their support on social media, writing: “The 13 Rosas represent dignity in the face of fanaticism. To desecrate their memory and to threaten a journalist with death is to cross an intolerable line.
“Hatred, machismo and fear will not prevail in our democracy. My solidarity with Sarah. You are not alone.”
Jose Pablo Lopez, president of RTVE, said: “Yesterday they harassed her at the doors of RTVE and followed her all the way to her home. Nothing is coincidental. It is a perfectly orchestrated plan to intimidate her and everyone who dares to challenge the official narrative and the dominant editorial line.
“It is surprising to see that some of those who have participated in her public targeting, for some time now, today pretend to show solidarity. Either they have no shame or they take us for fools.
“There are also resounding public silences. Equidistance is unacceptable when fear replaces freedom.”
The ‘13 Rosas’ is the name given to a group of 13 young women linked to the Unified Socialist Youth (JSU) who were executed by a Francoist firing squad on 5 August 1939, just after the conclusion of the Spanish Civil War.
The victims were Carmen Barrero Aguado (24), Martina Barroso García (22), Blanca Brissac Vázquez (29), Pilar Bueno Ibáñez (27), Julia Conesa Conesa (19), Adelina García Casillas (19), Elena Gil Olaya (20), Virtudes González García (18), Ana López Gallego (21), Joaquina López Laffite (23), Dionisia Manzanero Salas (20), Victoria Muñoz García (19) and Luisa Rodríguez de la Fuente (18).
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