Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has invoked his right to remain silent during his testimony as part of the corruption and influence-peddling investigation against his wife
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez today invoked the right to remain silent during his testimony at the official prime minister’s residence to Judge Juan Carlos Peinado, in the context of the investigation against his wife Begonia Gomet for corruption and undue influence.
The hearing lasted a minimum of an hour, two minutes, according to Begonia Gomet’s lawyer, about twenty minutes, according to Marta Castro, a lawyer for the far-right Vox party, part of the lawsuit that prompted the investigation, as required by Spanish law, and present at the hearing.
Pedro Sanchez was called as a witness in connection with the case of the exercise of undue influence.
She had the right not to answer the questions, as Spanish law allows citizens to remain silent if the investigation concerns their spouse.
Begonia Gometh herself had taken the same stance when she was summoned on July 19.
“Sanchez did not want to speak before the justice, but he will have to answer before the Spaniards for all the injustices” of his government, wrote X the leader of the conservative Popular Party Alberto Nunez Feijo.
The Spanish prime minister tried to invoke his position to ask him to testify in writing, but Judge Peinado refused.
THE Sanchez otherwise kept its regular schedule today, missing the meeting with judge Peinado, the second such hearing of a sitting prime minister, following that of Mariano Rajoy in 2017, as part of an investigation into illegal funding of the People’s Party.
The investigation against her Begonia Gometh it was launched following a lawsuit by Manos limpias (Clean Hands), an association close to the extreme right, which it claims was based on press reports.
Then the association Hazte oÃr (Make Your Voice Heard) and the party Vox became parties to the appeal.
Begonia Gomet runs a master’s in Business Administration at the Complutense University of Madrid and is suspected of using her husband’s position in the context of her professional relationships, in particular with Spanish businessman Juan Carlos Barabes, who in his testimony to Judge Peinado admitted five or six meetings with her at the palace of Montclos, two of them in the presence of Pedro Sanchez.
The businessman received, according to information, letters of recommendation from Begonia Gometh for his participation in public tenders worth millions of euros. He assured that the topics of the meetings were innovation.
Source :Skai
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