Judge in dana case warns Mazón: his defence incriminates former councillor Salomé Pradas
Magistrate Nuria Ruiz Tobarra responds to Mazón's defence submission and points out that his exculpatory strategy shifts responsibility to Pradas.
Judge in dana case warns Mazón: his exculpatory defence incriminates Salomé Pradas
The judge instructing the case into the dana, Nuria Ruiz Tobarra, has warned the former president of the Generalitat, Carlos Mazón, that the legal strategy employed by his lawyer to evade responsibility ends up pointing directly at his former Interior Councillor, Salomé Pradas. This is reported by El Mundo, based on an order notified this Friday.
In the ruling, Ruiz Tobarra responds to the appeal presented by Mazón's lawyer before the Catarroja court, in which it was argued that the delay in sending the ES-Alert had no direct relationship with the 232 deaths caused by the dana. The magistrate is emphatic: "The exculpatory thesis of Mr Carlos Mazón on which his defence rests becomes inculpatory with respect to Mrs Salomé Pradas".
Mazón's defence places Pradas at the centre of the case
Mazón's lawyer insisted that the former president was not a "guarantor" of citizen safety in the face of an emergency. That argument shifts the focus to Pradas, who already appears as an investigated party in the case alongside the former regional Emergency Secretary, Emilio Argüeso.
The judge also criticises the substance of the exculpatory narrative: "It is claimed that sending that message—preventing displacement—made exactly the same difference as sending none, that deaths would have occurred in most cases". From there, Ruiz Tobarra challenges Mazón to withdraw from the proceedings "if he considers there is nothing that can be imputed to him".
Mazón, appearing as party to the case but without testifying
Mazón's procedural situation is unusual. The Valencia Court of Appeal upheld his appearance as a party to the case, after the magistrate herself had rejected it having previously summoned him as a witness. As a privileged official, Mazón cannot be accused by this court, but his status as an appearing party prevents the judge from calling him as a witness.
In the order, Ruiz Tobarra also recalls that the former president has not only avoided testifying before the court, but has also not voluntarily provided his WhatsApp messages. A notable contrast with Pradas's conduct, who did provide hers, a move that, according to El Mundo, marked a turning point in the investigation and compromised Mazón's then chief of staff: he had reportedly asked Pradas not to confine the population minutes before the ES-Alert was sent.
Criticism of messages not provided
The magistrate regrets in the order that the case file has significant documentary gaps: "It is unknown whether those messages are all those existing in Mrs Salomé Pradas's possession; nor have messages been provided by Mr José Manuel Cuenca, since they were deleted, nor has Mr Carlos Mazón voluntarily provided any message whatsoever".
Ruiz Tobarra also criticises the form of the submission presented by the former president's defence, which she describes as "an extensive request for dismissal, directed at a body that is not competent, and formulated by a person who does not hold the status of investigated party".
Against the defence's argument that Mazón is the subject of prospective investigation, the judge responds that this is "a hollow assertion, without support or reference to any proceedings of such nature". The Public Prosecutor's Office, the magistrate recalls, "already rejected the possibility of nullity of any proceedings that might support the appearance as a party".
Source: El Mundo