cross-posted from: https://scribe.disroot.org/post/9678299

A Spanish court has ordered the wife of Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, Begona Gomez, to stand trial by jury for corruption and banned her from leaving the country, according to a court order released Saturday, June 20. The case is one of several corruption affairs that have embroiled the Socialist leader's family and former allies, threatening to topple his minority coalition government.

Judge Juan Carlos Peinado ordered Gomez to hand in her passport and to appear before the court twice a month until a verdict is reached in the case. the ruling said. The court said "instructions shall be issued to all border posts and civilian and military airports" to ensure Gomez complies with the ban on leaving the country.

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In his 84-page ruling, Peinado rejected the argument that the police who routinely provide protection to Gomez would prevent her from fleeing. Those officers "could either on their own initiative or following orders from their superiors" help "facilitate an escape that would make it impossible for the accused to be available to justice," he wrote.

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Other corruption trials

Spain's former Socialist prime minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero was placed under formal investigation last month suspected of influence peddling, in connection with bailout of small airline Plus Ultra in 2021.

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Abalos, a former Socialist heavyweight and transport minister who helped propel Sanchez to power in 2018, is accused of pocketing kickbacks for handing out public contracts worth millions of euros for sanitary equipment during the Covid-19 pandemic. Sanchez, a composer and orchestra director, is accused of receiving preferential treatment in obtaining a public-sector job.

The cases have embarrassed Sanchez, who came to power vowing to clean up Spanish politics after ousting a conservative Popular Party (PP) government in a no-confidence vote over its own graft scandal.

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