Spain: Disciplinary process launched against judge investigating the president's wife
Spain's judicial disciplinary body has initiated proceedings against judge Juan Carlos Peinado after he accused police of facilitating a possible flight abroad by the wife of President Sánchez.
Spain: Disciplinary process launched against judge investigating the president's wife
Spain's judicial disciplinary body has announced that it is initiating disciplinary proceedings against the judge directing the investigation into the wife of government president Pedro Sánchez.
On Saturday, judge Juan Carlos Peinado announced, after two years of investigations, that Begoña Gómez will be tried on corruption charges and will be barred from leaving the country.
In his reasoning, the magistrate invoked the possibility that "police officers, whether acting on their own initiative or on the orders of their superiors, might contribute to facilitating a possible flight" abroad by Pedro Sánchez's wife.
This provoked an angry response from police leadership, which issued a statement referring to unjustified reasoning and reminding that "political neutrality and absolute impartiality" are required of officers.
Judge Peinado's statements "probably constitute a serious violation of the obligation of respect towards the police", according to a statement from the General Council of the Judiciary (CGPJ), based in Madrid.
Source: Efimerida ton Syntakton