Lucio García Blanco is from Avilés (Asturias), a worker and communist activist for 50 years, more than 30 of which he has spent in prison. He has suffered six arrests with the consequent police torture for his political activism in the PCE(r) (Reconstituted Communist Party of Spain) and has carried out 23 hunger strikes, as reported by the International Red Aid.
Last October he turned 75 and is among the seriously ill political prisoners included in the solidarity campaigns and calls for his release by various anti-repression organizations. He has suffered for years from senile dementia with adjustment disorder, in addition to having back injuries as a result of torture suffered in police custody.
The SRI (Regional Penitentiary Service) reported months ago that “his mental health is deteriorating, and he is experiencing increasingly frequent episodes of disorientation, mental confusion, and memory loss.” They also reproduced excerpts from a note sent by other prisoners who shared his cell, certifying the serious decline in his health. Despite this, his parole has been systematically denied, sometimes with the most absurd reasons, such as Lucio having waived his right to parole, which is completely false. What he has been refusing is any form of blackmail and the conditions imposed on him for parole, including the obligation to report to prison to sign in. What he is demanding is IMMEDIATE and unconditional RELEASE due to a serious and incurable illness, as stipulated by prison legislation.
Last December, his lawyer appealed the denial of parole, arguing that “the inmate’s neurodegenerative disease severely affects his capacity for understanding and decision-making” and that “the inmate was compelled to sign a document without legal representation present, and that this act was null and void due to the violation of his rights.”
She also argued that “the medical reports already submitted confirm that the inmate suffers from a serious and incurable illness with progressive cognitive decline, and that his continued imprisonment—even under an open regime—exacerbates the progression of his illness and jeopardizes his life and dignity.”
However, neither the legal appeals nor the campaign of denunciation and solidarity with Lucio have succeeded in securing his full release. But neither has this State and its repressive prison system managed to get Lucio out of prison through the “back door” of repentance and capitulation.
Lucio García Blanco is an example of resistance, and even in his mental state, he has not renounced his status as a political prisoner nor disavowed his ideals. Lucio will walk out with his head held high on April 26th, and we will be there to welcome him.
A month before he completes his sentence, the “most progressive government of the Transition” once again denied communication to Lucio García Blanco, diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, preventing visits from friends without prior notice and with an excuse that his comrades describe as “criminal.”
According to a statement issued by the International Red Aid (IRA), the administration of Villabona prison (Asturias) cited an internal memo alleging that due to “drug problems in the Social Integration Center” (CIS), visits were limited to immediate family members, preventing visits from those who make up his support network. Social support for the elderly political prisoner, even though he was not involved in the alleged problems.
*Biography of the now-former communist political prisoner Lucio García.
–https://www.presos.org.es/index.php/2023/02/16/biografia-de-lucio-garcia-blanco/
Lucio is released today from Villabona prison.
Lucio is free.
By Carmela Muñoz, Presos, Resumen Latinoamericano, April 26, 2026.