Carlos González Martínez

Description

Carlos González Martínez (21) was studying psychology at the Complutense University of Madrid. On 27 September 1976, one year after the executions of José Humberto Baena, José Luís Sánchez Bravo and Ramón García Sanz (members of the terrorist organisation FRAP) and Ángel Otaegui and Juan Paredes Manot (members of the terrorist organisation ETA), a number of protests were organised in Madrid by the Coordinadora Pro-Amnistía (Pro-Amnesty Coordinating Committee).

Carlos González was one of around 150 people who attended one of the rallies, on Calle Barquillo in Madrid. However, the demonstration was broken up by members of the armed police (known popularly as the ‘Greys’), backed by a group of far-right Guerrillas of Christ the King, who led a violent charge on the protesters. One of the far-right attackers pulled out a pistol and fired four shots, two of which hit Carlos —who was less than a metre away— in the lower back. He was injured in one kidney, the intestines, a lung and the pleura and died the following day.

No investigation was carried out and no one was arrested for the murder of Carlos Gonzalez, nor was anyone brought to trial. In 2006, 30 years after the attack, the Supreme Court acknowledged Carlos as a victim of terrorism. However, his right to compensation from the state, as claimed by his mother, Margarita Martínez Corredor, was not recognised.