The defense of Begoña Gómez, wife of the Chief Executive, Pedro Sánchez, has opposed the judge investigating her asking the State Society of Industrial Participations (SEPI) for information about the rescue of Air Europa. He argues that “procedurally, the aid granted by the Government” to the company “does not constitute the object of this procedure.”
In his appeal, collected by Europa Press, his lawyer assures that the decision of Judge Juan Carlos Peinado “lacks foundation” given that “if the facts are not being investigated in the present procedure, it is not possible to request documentation that has to do with the granting of aid approved by the Council of Ministers.” And he adds, that given the condition of [aforados] the members of this, it would not even be within the jurisdiction of the court to investigate these facts.
In this context, Gómez’s defense claims that “it is not aware that an order has been issued expanding the scope of the investigation in the terms in which it was delimited by the Provincial Court.” That court has already established that nothing that was said in the Manos Limpias complaint regarding the airline company was more than “mere conjectures.” Despite this, Judge Peinado has focused on the aid that the Government granted in 2020 to rescue the company Air Europa in order to know its execution, financing and decision-making in this regard.
To support his appeal, Gómez’s defense recalls that the Spanish criminal procedure system prohibits prospective investigations. “That is, those in which, with the excuse of investigating a certain criminal act, in reality, what is sought is to inspect the life of the investigated to see if other crimes can be discovered,” he criticizes.
Finally, Gómez’s lawyer emphasizes that “the Supreme Court has also ruled on the general causes, stating that subjecting a person to a prospective investigation is ‘completely incompatible with the principles of a democratic rule of law’.”
Add Comment