The Basque Government and the Spanish Government officially recognise Olmo Gómez Aldaz as a “stolen baby”, while the Provincial Council of Biscay opposes the annulment of his adoption
The 1972 adoption remains legally in force despite the restoration of his original parentage and surnames by birth. As Article 180 of the Spanish Civil Code states that “adoption is irrevocable”, Olmo Gómez Aldaz has been forced to seek the annulment of his adoption through the courts.
Tudela de Duero, 12 July 2026.
Olmo Gómez Aldaz, registered at birth as a foundling and adopted in Bilbao in 1972, was known for decades as Santiago González Rueda. He is now in an exceptional legal situation: a final judgment allowed him to restore his original parentage and surnames by birth without affecting the adoption, making him the first person in Spain with effective dual parentage.
The new proceedings now before the Bilbao court seek the annulment of his adoption. The Provincial Council of Biscay, named as a defendant in the proceedings, opposes that annulment.
On 6 July 2026, Gogora, the Basque Government’s Institute for Memory, Coexistence and Human Rights, officially recognised Olmo Gómez Aldaz as a “victim of the military coup and the Franco dictatorship” under Article 4.2.l of Law 9/2023, which refers to “minors who were taken from their biological parents and handed over to adoptive mothers and fathers without the consent of their parents”.
This recognition follows one issued several months earlier by the Government of Spain. In a Personal Declaration of Recognition and Reparation dated 19 February 2026 under the 2022 Democratic Memory Law, the Ministry of Territorial Policy and Democratic Memory recognised Gómez Aldaz as a victim and stated that it had been established that “in 1971 he was taken and adopted without the legitimate and free consent of his parents”.
Although neither recognition annuls the adoption by itself, both officially establish his status as a victim and the facts on which the annulment claim is based.
The case is currently before Civil Section No. 3 of the Bilbao Court of First Instance, which is hearing the new claim concerning the adoption formalised there in 1972. The claim is being led by Guillermo Peña Salsamendi, one of the leading legal figures in the stolen-babies cause.
The claim does not seek revocation of the adoption—Article 180 of the Civil Code states that “adoption is irrevocable”—but a declaration that it was null from the outset because of the circumstances in which it was constituted.
In its response to the claim, the Provincial Council of Biscay opposes annulment and argues that such actions were a “legal, frequent and tolerated practice” and that assigning the surnames of the future adoptive family from birth “was common practice”.
In 2010, after almost forty years living under an identity different from the one he had at birth, Olmo Gómez Aldaz managed to locate his family of origin and learn the identity of his mother, who had died in 1989.
“For me, annulling the adoption is a way to honour the memory of my mother, Micaela Aldaz Ilarregi: they did not only separate me from her; her son was torn away from her. I need this truth to be recognised and repaired by the courts,” Gómez Aldaz says.
The case has particular public importance while the national bill on “stolen babies”, promoted since 2017 and introduced in three parliamentary terms, is still awaiting consideration by the plenary session of the Congress of Deputies.
“They demand that we prove we are victims, but they close the criminal route on limitation grounds—the very route that would allow the crime to be proved. By refusing to investigate these events as crimes against humanity, the justice system prevents us even from establishing our own status as victims,” Gómez Aldaz says.
Against this background, and despite the express recognition by the Spanish and Basque governments, the Provincial Council of Biscay maintains its opposition to annulling the adoption. Gómez Aldaz describes this institutional situation as “revictimising”.
In addition to pursuing his own legal case, Olmo Gómez Aldaz is a member of the Victims’ Platform of the María Madre Association of Bilbao. His is one of numerous cases linked to this organisation, which was run by Mercedes Herrán Inchausti, known as the widow of Gras. The platform is preparing a collective claim relating to the irregular practices attributed to the association. Gómez Aldaz is also a member of La Voz de los Adoptados.
The judicial, registry and research documents relating to the case are available on his website, gomezaldaz.com. Part of his personal and legal story is also told in the autobiographical book DOGA 2025. The Battle for My Identity.
Contact details
Olmo Gómez Aldaz
Tel.: (+34) 603 384 677
Email: prensa@gomezaldaz.com
Web: gomezaldaz.com
Documentary and graphic material
The official recognitions issued by the Basque Government and the Spanish Government were attached together with graphic material relating to the case. Pages 4 and 5 of the original PDF include a composition showing both recognitions and a portrait of Micaela Aldaz Ilarregi.
English translation. The original Spanish PDF is preserved unchanged. Contact details in this HTML version have been updated for publication on the website.