after the massacre, calls for stop work protests were heeded by upwards of half a million workers across Spain. The strikes were largest in the Basque Country, Asturias, Catalonia and Madrid, with universities and courts across the country shut down in protest. During a news broadcast on state-television on January 26, the announcer declared solidarity with the stoppages on behalf of the station's staff. In Madrid, between 50,000 and 100,000 people watched in silence as the coffins of three of the victims were taken for burial. The PCE was legalized soon after on April 9, 1977; the Party's earlier embrace of Eurocommunism (essentially a rejection of Soviet-style socialism) and a highly visible role in promoting a peaceful response to the massacre allowed the government the necessary political space to lift the ban in place since 1939. With the passing of Act 19 covering labor rights on April 1 and the ratification of the ILO Conventions on freedom of association and collective bargaining on April 20, independent unions became legal and the Francoist Sindicato Vertical system was effectively dissolved. Capture, trial, prison and escape The murderers, believing themselves well protected via political connections, carried on their lives as normal. Lawyer José María Mohedano recalled: “They had the power of a Franco-era labor union that was still alive and working, as well as the support of some police officers and the entire far-right." They were all linked, directly and indirectly, to the far-right extremist parties the Fuerza Nueva (New Force) and Guerrilleros de Cristo Rey (Warriors of Christ the King). However, on March 15, 1977, José Fernández Cerrá, Carlos García Juliá and Fernando Lerdo de Tejada were arrested as the perpetrators. Francisco Albadalejo Corredera, provincial secretary of the Francoist transport labor union, was also arrested for having ordered the killings. Leocadio Jiménez Caravaca and Simón Ramón Fernández Palacios, veterans of the Blue Division, were arrested for supplying weapons. Gloria Herguedas, Cerrá's girlfriend, was arrested as an accomplice. During the trial the accused made contacts with well-known leaders of the extreme right, including Blas Piñar (founder of Fuerza Nueva) and Mariano Sánchez Covisa (leader of Guerrilleros de Cristo Rey). The trial took place in February 1980 and the defendants were sentenced to a total of 464 years in jail. José Fernández Cerrá and Carlos García Juliá, as the main perpetrators, received prison terms of 193 years each. Albadalejo Corredera received 63 years for