Begoña Gomez has not appeared before the judge in the process of being tried by a popular jury
The wife of the President of the Spanish Government was the procedure for a popular jury to try for alleged embezzlement of public funds. Cristina Álvarez, adviser to Gómez, and Francisco Martín, delegate of the Spanish Government in Madrid, have not also appeared.
Begoña Gómez, the wife of the President of the Spanish Government, was due to testify before Judge Juan Carlos Peinado on Saturday afternoon as a procedure for a popular jury to try him in the context of the investigation opened for embezzlement of public funds, although Gómez and the other two persons investigated have not appeared beforethe judge, whose lawyers have appeared before the judge.
Gomez has been summoned to testify for the fifth time since the opening of the investigation in April 2024 and was due to do so at Madrid Examining Court 41.
The other two persons investigated in this separate piece of the main process have also been summoned to testify: Cristina Álvarez, adviser to Gómez in La Moncloa, and Francisco Martín, delegate of the Spanish Government in Madrid.
The defences of the persons under investigation have explained that failure to attend does not affect the judicial proceedings, so the three persons under investigation have decided not to appear, as they do not consider it essential.
The decision is supported by a circular from the Public Prosecutor's Office dated 29 December 1995, which guarantees that only lawyers will attendsuch visits, as happened this Saturday.
"The appearance shall determine only the conditions of such accusation, and always before counsel. The presence of the accused is not necessary. At the hearing, as will be seen immediately, no investigative proceedings are conducted and therefore no statement is made by the accused," says circular 4/1995.
All three are being investigated for alleged embezzlement, as Peinado believes there are indications of a crime if he has been engaged since 2018 in private functions for Cristina Álvarez as adviser to Begoña Gómez, paid for with public funds.
This separate piece is excluded from the main procedure, in which he is charged with corruption, intrusion, trafficking in influence and misappropriation in business.
This Saturday's diligence is a procedure determined by the Sworn Jury Act , which must be conducted within five days of the judge's proposal to continue the proceedings in this way, which took place on Tuesday, and which determines the charge against him and the future of the case.
Once this procedure has been completed, the judge shall decide whether or not to continue the proceedings, without prejudice to the possibility of appeal to the Territorial Court.
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