THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: The leader of Majorca has become the first government official to apologise for the execution of Jews during the Spanish Inquisition – centuries after the events.
Francesc Antich, the regional president of the Balearic Islands, issued an official condemnation of the killings in what was heralded by Jewish groups as the first of its kind in Spain.
"We have dared to gather here to recognise the grave injustice committed against those Majorcans who were accused, persecuted, charged and condemned to death for their faith and their beliefs," Mr Antich said at a memorial service held in Palma de Majorca [Palma].
At the end of the 15th century King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella set up the Spanish Inquisition to root out remnants of Islam and Judaism after the reconquest of Spain. Over the following two centuries thousands of so-called heretics were burned at the stake. » | Fiona Govan, in Madrid | Friday, May 06, 2011
