It had initially planned to move his remains to a family tomb on June 10 but just days beforehand the Supreme Court suspended the exhumation pending the outcome of an appeal by Franco's heirs. In addition, an administrative judge in February 2019 had suspended the building permit to begin work to remove the remains from the basilica. But in a unanimous decision issued last Tuesday, the Supreme Court decided to "completely reject" the appeal lodged by Franco's family. The court still must rule on three other appeals against the planned exhumation but a court spokesman said last week it was "foreseeable" the judges would issue a similar verdict in the remaining three cases. Franco, who ruled with an iron fist following the end of Spain's 1936-39 civil war, had himself planned the monument and had it built, using the labour of political prisoners.

Source: The Local September 30, 2019 19:18 UTC