POLICE ATTACK IN GALICIA

Another region in which Jehovah’s Witnesses have experienced persecution through the years is Galicia. Toward the end of 1960, Francisco Córdoba and his wife, Margarita Roca, were each fined 1,000 pesetas (about $20) for the crime of having participated in proselytism as special pioneers in La Coruña (Galicia) since 1958. In actual fact, they had not been caught preaching from house to house, nor had they been denounced by any citizens of the area. The police simply took the initiative against them. Their appeals against the fines were rejected.

During this period, our meetings were being held at a farm in Joane, but extreme caution had to be exercised. Because there was a store attached to the farm, customers were coming and going at all hours of the day and night. So, our meetings were held outside in an hórreo, a narrow rectangular building typical of Galicia and one that serves as a granary. The meetings would start at 10 or 11 p.m. and would continue past midnight. Each time someone entered or departed, the lights were extinguished so that no one on a nearby farm could tell that people were coming and going. After working all day in the fields, to get to meetings some traveled by bicycle as far as twenty-two kilometers (14 miles). Special pioneers Francisco Córdoba and Jesús Arenas had to make a round trip of seventy-seven kilometers (48 miles) to visit the group and direct the meetings.

In December 1961, the police turned up at the farm, where Ramón Barca, his wife, Carmen, and her brother, Jesús Pose, were going about their daily chores. Without any legal warrant, the police searched the farmhouse and confiscated the literature they found, including a Nácar-Colunga Bible. The three Witnesses were taken into custody and were subjected to a ten-hour interrogation in the nearby town of Carballo. Two days later they appeared before the local judge who admitted that they could practice their religion privately at home. But he contended that they could not participate in anything that amounted to a public manifestation of their faith. Three weeks later the result came through​—a fine of 500 pesetas each. The fines were not paid, as our policy was to appeal all fines rather than pay them, and thus try to get justice through the law.

In his reports to the Provincial Governor, the Chief of Police stated that the family’s conduct was “favorable in every respect, without any unfavorable background,” and that Ramón Barca was “classified by the Guardia Civil as an orderly person and in harmony with the Regime.” He added that while the three were Jehovah’s Witnesses, “it is very possible that acts of proselytism were not carried out in the hamlet, because of the difficulty that would be found in making members in our region where the Catholic religious belief is so rooted.” So, he said that the Witnesses were possibly “limiting themselves to the practice of privately reading commentaries on the Bible in their own home.” However, it was noted that the married couple frequently visited a Witness in the capital, La Coruña. So it was assumed that the crime of threatening the enigmatic “spiritual unity of Spain” had been committed.

In regard to the Bible study material that was confiscated, the police official opined that “it is to be supposed that they will distribute it among their friends or future members of the mentioned Sect.” Here supposed intention of an act was the basis for an accusation. During the police search, some addresses were found, which were “without doubt visited in their proselyting work,” although “it is not considered that these acts might have any great repercussion,” concluded the Chief of Police. (Italics ours.)

In spite of this relatively favorable report, the fines were imposed. The official notification gave a clue as to the reason why. The Provincial Governor justified his action in writing by saying: “Not only was the new report issued by the Superior Police Headquarters kept in mind, but also the contents of the confidential circular of the Ministry of the Interior . . . which warns against the activities of the sect ‘Jehovah’s Witnesses,’ to which the three sanctioned ones belong.” This confidential circular was the one of March 1961, which instructed the governors to impose fines of at least 2,500 pesetas on Jehovah’s Witnesses. So, from the Provincial Governor’s point of view, he was letting the Witnesses off lightly with fines of only 500 pesetas.

The case was appealed to the Supreme Court, which chose to consider it in private and in the absence of the accused and the lawyers. On June 27, 1964, the Court ruled that the three accused persons were guilty of committing the crime of threatening the “spiritual unity of Spain.” Although the Court admitted that the Spanish Bill of Rights permits the private exercise of non-Catholic religions, they decided that the evidence was sufficient to prove that the three Witnesses had participated in proselytism and had infringed upon the spiritual (Catholic) unity of the nation.

Among the Christian witnesses of Jehovah who suffered persecution in Córdoba during the early 1960’s were pioneers Manuel Mula and Antonio Moriana. They had been assigned to Córdoba in February 1961. One day two policemen came and took them to the police station, along with a small amount of our older literature. At the station, the brothers were interrogated, but the police could get no useful information out of them. So, they started to beat the brothers, first with the hand, and then with a rubber truncheon, beating them on the back and the legs. Manuel ended up with a black eye, but the police still did not get any revealing information.

From the police station, the pioneers were taken to prison, where they were held for four days. Then they were notified that Antonio would have to pay a fine of 2,000 pesetas and Manuel a fine of 5,000 pesetas within ten days. Manuel was ordered to leave the province, and within a short time was back in Barcelona, awaiting a new assignment. Despite this experience, however, Antonio Moriana was able to continue his activity in Córdoba until May 1962.

A SHAMEFUL ATTACK

One of the most shameful attacks against Jehovah’s Witnesses took place in mid-1962 at Los Lastres farm near Lucena, in the southern part of Córdoba province. The Montalbán family there had accepted the truth and had started preaching it to their neighbors on nearby farms. Soon, Christian meetings were organized, and from twenty to thirty persons were attending.

On May 28 a very uncouth sergeant of the Guardia Civil, together with another guard, came to the Montalbán farm. The sergeant asked for the head of the family and threatened to take him to jail if the Bible study at the farm was not stopped.

Just four days later, on June 1, a captain, a sergeant and two additional guards turned up at the farm. Gruffly, they mumbled something about an “anonymous complaint” about political activities. These men demanded the names of all those who visited the farm to study the Bible, most of whom were relatives of the family. Unwisely, and due to lack of experience, these names were supplied. The next step was to search the farm, even though the guards had no search warrant. They then went to another farm, and although the owner, who was studying the Bible, was not at home, they searched his house and took away some of our publications.

On that occasion the only member of the family that was baptized, Juan Montalbán Ortega, was openly insulted and accused of living in concubinage because he had been married in Gibraltar under British law, rather than accepting a Catholic rite in Spain. The captain wrote up a report of his visit and told those present that they all had to sign it. Once again lack of experience led them into a trap, and about twenty-eight of them signed the statement. Nevertheless, they insisted on adding the following words: “We study the Bible because it is the inspired Word of God, and in the Bible it states that one must preach it and make it known for the purpose of giving a witness of salvation to all the nations and then the end will come. Matthew 24:14.”

On June 15 the Civil Governor of Córdoba fined these humble country people a total of 40,000 pesetas ($666). Twelve persons were fined, with the fines ranging from the basic 2,500 pesetas recommended by the Ministry of the Interior circular to a maximum of 5,000 pesetas imposed on four of them. They were charged, in the words of the standard phrase, with “threatening the spiritual unity of Spain, by doing proselytism in favor of the Jehovah’s Witnesses sect.”

This group of interested persons wanted to appeal. So, the father, Antonio Montalbán, and his son Juan traveled to Córdoba, the capital city, to find a lawyer who would defend them. To the disgrace of the body of lawyers in that city, not one was willing to take on the defense or give them any assistance. Hence, they did their best according to limited knowledge of the law, deposited one third of the total value of the fines, and lodged an appeal on behalf of all twelve defendants. However, no one had told them that they needed legal authorization, signed by a notary, in order to appeal on behalf of the other ten persons. On this technicality, the Civil Governor rejected those ten appeals, but kept the money that had been deposited. So, the only valid appeals were those of the father and son who had journeyed to the city. These two appeals were rejected by the Civil Governor and by the Ministry of the Interior, but, since they were valid, they could be taken to the Supreme Court. However, the final result of the two appeals was a defeat for the brothers and for freedom of religious expression.

In spite of setbacks during those years of persecution, it is encouraging to know that there are now four thriving congregations in Córdoba with about 350 publishers, and another eight congregations in the province, including one in Lucena, not far from the Los Lastres farm.

COPING WITH CONTINUED PERSECUTION

This persistent persecution of Jehovah’s Christian witnesses in Spain showed that the police authorities were taking to heart the circulars sent out from the Ministry of the Interior from 1959 to 1966. Arrests and arbitrary imprisonment, together with fines, involved pioneers in such places as Córdoba, San Sebastián, Jaén, Castellón de la Plana, and Murcia, as well as a group of five publishers in Ciudad Real. In most cases the minimum stipulated fine of 2,500 pesetas was exacted, although it never was paid voluntarily. This has to be clarified because, in cases taken to the Supreme Court, the fines had to be deposited beforehand, and, if the case was lost, the fine automatically was forfeited. On the other hand, if the case was won, the money could be reclaimed, although it usually took much longer to get it back than the minimum period required by law for depositing it.

Getting legal assistance was not easy. For instance, consider what happened to two young special pioneers, Francisca López and Francisca Almarza. While serving in the provincial capital of Palencia in the early 1960’s, on more than one occasion, they were fined heavily for their preaching work. In one instance, a lawyer was paid to appeal their case and then failed to do so. His negligence led to the two pioneer sisters having to spend thirty days in prison.

This problem with that particular lawyer illustrates a situation that was general throughout Spain​—the lack of lawyers willing to defend Jehovah’s Witnesses. One or two started off with good intentions, but, when they were intimidated by being told that their defense of the Witnesses could hurt their career, their fighting spirit withered overnight. One refreshing exception to this has been the courageous defense of Jehovah’s Witnesses waged by lawyer Eduardo Ajuria, who, while not being a Witness, has shown himself to be truly dedicated to the cause of justice by the rule of law. He has represented Jehovah’s Witnesses on countless occasions, even as far as the Supreme Court.

SUPREME COURT VICTORIES

There have been times when Jehovah’s Witnesses in Spain have been victorious in legal battles carried to the Supreme Court. So, let us tell you something about certain victories won there.

In 1963 police inspectors visited the “Monte Carlo” pension in Málaga, owned by Francisco Alonso Valle and his wife, Esperanza. They were accused of holding unauthorized meetings. The house was searched, and those fingerprinted included their two small children who were only eight and four years of age. One person who had attended the meetings, Brother Fernández, was so harassed at the barbershop where he worked that he finally lost his job. As a result of this police investigation, four of the accused were fined 500 pesetas each, and Brother Fernández, as a second offender, was fined 2,000 pesetas. He had been fined the year before for being one of Jehovah’s Witnesses and had spent fifteen days in prison in lieu of the fine.

The case of these five persons was appealed to the Minister of the Interior. But the appeal was rejected on the grounds that it was deemed that, by their activities, the Witnesses had “threatened the spiritual unity of Spain.” So, the ease was appealed to the Supreme Court. On October 20, 1966, that Court annulled the decision of Málaga’s Civil Governor. It reasoned that obviously in private meetings the commentary given on the Bible would be in agreement with the doctrine professed in common and that, therefore, it could not be considered as proselytizing propaganda. Furthermore, it had not been proved that more than twenty persons had attended the meeting, so that it was not outside the law as an unauthorized meeting. With regard to the holding of our meetings this was a notable victory.

It is interesting to note that during the three years 1964 to 1967 the Supreme Court upheld thirty-eight of the more than fifty convictions that Jehovah’s Witnesses had appealed to that Court. Most of those lost cases had to do with the preaching activity, which constituted for the judges a public manifestation of non-Catholic religious beliefs that they considered to be a violation of the law as it then stood.

On June 10, 1964, two young sisters, Santiaga Sánchez and Encarnita García, were arrested while waiting in a bus they had boarded to go back to their hometown of Torralba de Calatrava. They were taken to the police station in Ciudad Real where they were interrogated from 8 p.m. to 4:30 a.m. Both of them were fined 2,500 pesetas ($42) for “belonging to the sect ‘Jehovah’s Witnesses’” and “for making trips to this Capital to carry on proselyting activities for the mentioned sect.” The same night that the sisters were interrogated, three more “suspects” were rounded up and questioned, ending up with their being fined the stipulated minimum of 2,500 pesetas. These fines were appealed to the Ministry of the Interior, which upheld them. The last step was to appeal to the Supreme Court.

The question before the Court was whether one’s admission during interrogation that he was one of Jehovah’s Witnesses was in itself basis for incrimination. The Court observed that, “apart from the individual interrogations,” the police affidavit “had been drawn up without any other activity or effort, neither documental nor by witnesses, either direct or referential, which could serve as a verifying element.” The judges perceived “not only imprecision” in regard to the police investigation, but a complete absence of proof, which evidence is necessary “in any case in order to consider as true the facts upon which the assumption is based.” Hence, the Court concluded that from the “interrogations, only a personal conviction is deduced.” As to the charge of public proselytism, the Court held that “not in any case is verification achieved nor does the affidavit even try to do so.” For these reasons the five accused persons were acquitted, although they never recovered the full amount deposited for the fines.

In comparison with the convictions that were upheld, the legal victories were few and far between. Yet, in spite of imprisonment, fines and expulsions from their assignments, the pioneers kept up their intensive preaching activity and faithfully followed the example of the apostles. (Acts 5:27-29) While congregation publishers often were affected by the persecution, it was the pioneers who bore the brunt of the attack, and frequently in isolated assignments where they did not even have the stimulus of association and meetings in a congregation.