The Provincial Court of Madrid has overturned the decision to put Begoña Gómez, wife of Spain’s Prime Minister, on trial before a jury, citing a lack of “conclusive and consistent evidence” to justify such a high-stakes procedure.
The ruling, made public Monday, also affects Gómez’s advisor, Cristina Álvarez, and businessman Juan Carlos Barrabés, sending the case back to its previous stage before Judge Juan Carlos Peinado attempted to escalate it to a jury trial.
Section 23 of the court sharply criticized Peinado, calling his move “unacceptable” because it failed to specify which actions of the defendants warranted a jury trial or to provide a credible evidentiary basis for the accusations. The judges argued that any “transcendental decision” must be grounded in a clear narrative supported by rational, verifiable evidence.
Judge Peinado had sought to have Gómez face a jury for alleged embezzlement related to hiring her advisor and later extended this approach to alleged influence peddling and corruption in business. However, the Madrid Court stressed that splitting the investigation into separate lines without clear factual grounding was improper. “If dividing proceedings without factual delimitation is unacceptable, much less can the case advance to jury proceedings under such conditions,” the ruling stated.
The judges emphasized that after 18 months of investigation, mere plausibility of the complaint does not justify a jury trial. They reaffirmed the validity of the investigative work already carried out but insisted that any move to the next procedural phase requires solid evidence showing that the alleged acts constitute criminal offenses.
The court’s decision underscores the need for careful, evidence-backed procedures in high-profile cases, signalling a judicial check on premature or poorly substantiated escalations.
