THE TELEGRAPH: Spain has apologised to a man jailed for being homosexual in the 1970s under a law introduced by General Francisco Franco.
Antoni Ruiz, 50, has become the first Spaniard to receive official recognition of his suffering more than three decades after he was imprisoned for his sexual orientation.
An estimated 5,000 men served prison sentences during the dictatorship of Gen Franco when homosexuality was made illegal but Mr Ruiz was one of the few sentenced for the crime following the death of the dictator in November 1975.
In 1976, at the age of 17, Mr Ruiz, from Valencia, told family members that he was gay. At the time homosexuality was still banned and when his parents confided in a Catholic monk, he denounced their son to the authorities.
He was sentenced to three months in prison and was then banished from his home town for a further year.
Mr Ruiz, who heads an association for former prisoners, received a formal letter of apology from Spain's justice minister last week and an offer of financial compensation amounting to 4,000 euros (£3,600). >>> Fiona Govan in Madrid | Sunday, December 06, 2009
