A court in Elda (Alicante province) has postponed the hearing in the case of Teófilo del Valle’s death, which occurred nearly half a century ago. The new date for questioning former minister and deputy prime minister Rodolfo Martín Villa and ex-police officer Daniel Aroca is set for February 4, 2026. The delay was due to technical issues in the courts of Madrid and Albacete, where the defendants were to participate remotely.
Teófilo del Valle, a 20-year-old shoe factory worker, was killed in February 1976 during a demonstration demanding better working conditions. He was shot in the back as he tried to escape pursuing police officers. This tragic event became the first fatality in a wave of protests that marked Spain’s transition from dictatorship to democracy.
For years, the victim’s family fought to have the circumstances of his death investigated. According to the investigation, it was Martín Villa, then Minister of Trade Union Affairs, who ordered the violent dispersal of the demonstrators. Case materials identify Daniel Aroca as the police officer whose shots proved fatal. Aroca was later tried by a military court but acquitted, as his actions were deemed part of his official duties.
The case that changed the approach to crimes of the transition period
In Spain, over the past decades, more than a hundred lawsuits have been filed over human rights violations during the years of the dictatorship and the first years after Franco’s death. However, the del Valle case is the first to reach the trial stage. The judge rejected Martín Villa’s appeal, in which he attempted to contest the opening of the case, and confirmed that the investigation would proceed.
Civil society organizations supporting the family of the deceased view this as an important step in the fight against impunity for crimes committed during the transition period. According to their data, more than a hundred people died due to the actions of security forces from late 1975 to 1982. Despite the 1977 Amnesty Law, which had long hindered judicial prosecution, there is now a chance to establish legal truth and hold those responsible to account.
Awaiting further decisions
The investigation is ongoing, and many observers believe that the upcoming questioning of Martín Villa could set a precedent for similar cases. The del Valle family and human rights advocates hope that the court will clarify all the circumstances of the tragedy and determine the degree of responsibility for each individual involved. Ahead lies a long search for justice—one that could change society’s attitude toward the events of the transition period.
