Inquiry into Spain's missing children

[Ghost Dog]

• Thousands kidnapped under Franco regime
• Human rights judge opens cases across the country

...

A magistrate investigating the human rights crimes of Francisco Franco has ordered an inquiry into the fate of children kidnapped from leftwing families by the dictator's henchmen.

Judge Baltasar Garzón, the controversial national court magistrate, has asked judges to add the missing children to more than 136,000 cases of people who disappeared under the Franco regime.

An unknown number of children were allegedly stolen from "red" families by Franco's supporters, but details of individual cases have recently been sent to courts in Madrid, Barcelona, Bilbao, Valencia, Burgos, Málaga and Zaragoza.

Campaigners say thousands of children were taken from mothers, especially those in jail, and handed to orphanages in the early years of Franco's 36-year dictatorship. Some had surnames changed and were never seen again.

/... http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/jan/09/spain-missing-children-franco