GRAVE OF CIPRIANO MARTOS

Cipriano Martos Jiménez (Huétor-Tájar, 1942 - Reus, 1973) was a Spanish worker and trade unionist of Andalusian origin. In search of work, he moved first to Morón de la Frontera, then to Teruel, Sabadell, Terrassa, and finally Reus, where he took on various jobs as a day labourer, miner, textile worker, and eventually a bricklayer. He was a member of the FRAP (Revolutionary Anti-Fascist Popular Front) and, just before turning 31, was arrested by the Civil Guard at work, accused of distributing propaganda and making some graffiti in Igualada. He was detained alongside other associates and taken to the Civil Guard barracks in Reus, charged with illegal propaganda and belonging to the FRAP.

According to various sources and books published about his story, after two days of intense interrogations and torture without revealing any information, on August 27, the Civil Guard resorted to a more drastic measure for Cipriano Martos: administering what is known as "the liquor of truth." They made him ingest a corrosive mixture of sulfuric acid and gasoline, similar to the ingredients of a Molotov cocktail. That same day, due to his critical condition, Cipriano Martos was taken by the Civil Guard to the Sant Joan Hospital in Reus, where he was treated by several doctors. After a slight recovery, on August 29, he was presented before a judge, who was unable to take his statement due to the severity of his injuries. On September 17, 1973, 19 days later, with his digestive system destroyed, he died from internal bleeding, according to the death certificate, after enduring terrible suffering.

During the 20 days that Martos was agonizing in the hospital's charity ward, he was constantly monitored by the Civil Guard, and no family members were ever notified. When he died, not even his mother was allowed to see him, despite her repeated pleas to be allowed to see her son. He was secretly buried in a charity grave owned by the Reus City Council at the Reus cemetery on September 20, 1973.

Antonio Martos, Cipriano's brother, filed a lawsuit in 2014 for this murder before the Argentine court of Judge María Romilda Servini. On August 30, 2016, at the order of this judge, the Sabadell Court No. 4 took a statement from Antonio Martos as part of the “Argentine lawsuit against the crimes of Francoism,” which is ongoing against those responsible for the dictatorship for the crimes committed during the Franco regime.