The emotional event took place last Sunday, April 12, at the Paterna Cemetery, where Rafael Mollà, 90 years old, was finally able to hold the box containing the remains of his father, Juan Mollà Gandia. The tobacconist from Ontinyent was executed in August 1940 by Franco's regime due to his leftist ideas, and his remains have been in a mass grave for almost nine decades.

At the same ceremony, Antonia, granddaughter of Vicente Ribelles Nebot, received the remains of her grandfather. Ribelles, republican mayor of Canet d'en Berenguer between 1936 and 1939, was executed on November 17, 1939, after a summary trial. His remains were found in Grave 95 of the Paterna Cemetery, along with 45 other bodies.

The Paterna Cemetery, where 2,238 people were murdered and buried in times of peace, became a space for vindication. The families of Mollà and Ribelles received the bodies of their loved ones, allowing them to return home. Vicente Ribelles, a day laborer and UGT worker, was arrested and executed for being considered a "frankly leftist person," according to his file. His granddaughter Antonia will fulfill her mother's wish to take him to Canet for a dignified burial.

Rafael Mollà, son of Juan, expressed his emotion upon receiving his father, recalling the pain and silence suffered by the families of the repressed. His granddaughter, Amparo Mollà, highlighted that the "murders of that time extended for several generations," with social and labor repercussions. The event was attended by Natàlia Enguix, vice president of the Diputación de Valencia and deputy mayor of Ontinyent, who described the event as an "act of collective justice".