Justice acquits the author of the graffiti on Franco's tomb

The Provincial Court of Madrid has acquitted the sculptor Enrique Tenreiro, author of a painting on the tomb of Francisco Franco in October 2018, of crimes against freedom of conscience and acts of desecration.

The magistrates consider that he should be acquitted of the crime against freedom of conscience because he painted the dove of peace and shouted that he was performing this act “for the reconciliation of the Spaniards” when the mass had not yet begun, “of which, he said not having knowledge”, according to the resolution released this Tuesday.

The Prosecutor's Office had requested a sentence of one year in prison.

The sentence emphasizes that the law requires that in order to punish someone for a crime against religious sentiments, they must conduct themselves with "violence, threat, tumult or de facto means, preventing, interrupting or disturbing acts, functions or ceremonies", which , according to the judges, has not been proven in the trial. "First, the mass had not started, second, he acted alone and quickly and the slogans launched in no way went against the religious beliefs of those who might be present there," the magistrates point out.

The Association for the Defense of the Valley of the Fallen also accused Tenreiro of the crimes of desecration and damage to the coffin, but the sentence concludes that "it is not appreciated that there was a desecration or violation of Franco's tomb with a spirit of disrespect due to the dead.” For this, according to the resolution, it must be based on the fact that it is a figure with a career as head of state and the purpose of the accused was not to vilify his person as such, but to express an idea about his presence in the place, "without concurring a spirit of outrage" and with "damage that is reduced to aesthetic affectation and that can be recovered with a mere cleaning".

The Galician sculptor maintains that he carried out "a

" for the reconciliation of the Spanish, alleging that neither Benito Mussolini nor Adolf Hitler keep burial in public places and that the dictator's coffin was "out of place" in a mausoleum "paid for by all" .

In addition to drawing a dove with red paint, the artist wrote the word freedom on the coffin.