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The judge suspends the trial against Errejón for an alleged kick to a man to ask the Court if he should abstain

2022-01-25T18:27:21.674Z


The deputy defends his innocence: "I want to be able to clarify everything because it is an unpleasant nonsense"


Íñigo Errejón, deputy for Más País, sitting this Tuesday on the bench of the Madrid courts of Plaza de Castilla. JUAN CARLOS HIDALGO (EFE)

The judicial ordeal of Íñigo Errejón continues longer.

Judge Margarita Valcarce, in charge of the case against the More Country deputy for a minor crime for allegedly kicking a resident of Lavapiés (Madrid) in May 2021, has agreed to suspend the oral hearing just before starting this Tuesday.

The judge has made this decision

in extremis

to ask the Provincial Court of Madrid if it should abstain after, in the preliminary questions phase, the Prosecutor's Office pointed out that Valcarce's "impartiality" is compromised by having also been the magistrate who instructed the case.

The judge's last-minute decision has not prevented, however, that Errejón starred in one of the images that politicians fear the most: his photo on the defendant's bench.

A resident of Lavapiés, Alberto Domarco, denounced him for allegedly kicking him in the stomach when, according to the version of the alleged victim, he only wanted to take a photo with the politician on the eve of the regional elections to the Community of Madrid.

The More Country deputy, also founder of Podemos, has always denied the attack, but the instructor considered that there were sufficient elements to hold the hearing.

Of course, she previously ruled out the crime of injuries after forensic doctors found "no traumatic injury" derived from the alleged blow.

Íñigo Errejón, upon his arrival at the courts this Tuesday.

andrea commas

Despite the fact that the deputy is registered before the Supreme Court, the law allows these minor crimes to be dealt with in the ordinary courts.

In the case of proving the accusation, Errejón would be sentenced to pay a fine at most, but the sentence would mean a political earthquake on the left.

The Prosecutor's Office has been in charge of putting on the table the debate on the lack of "impartiality" of Valcarce.

The public ministry has supported a possible request for the judge's recusal, but the lawyers for the parties have insisted that this type of request has not occurred.

Of course, Errejón's lawyer has clarified that, in his opinion, the most correct thing "procedurally" is that the magistrate herself decides to abstain: "So that the hearing is held before a court that has not heard [before the matter] and that there is no shadow of a doubt.”

But, the defense attorney continued, "if his honor considers that it should be held, this party will not object."

Errejón shows his documentation before entering the courts, this Tuesday.

andrea commas

It is usual that, when faced with these types of complaints for minor crimes, the judges fail to carry out an in-depth investigation, which enables them to be able to prosecute the facts directly at the hearing.

In this case, the defendant and the Prosecutor's Office consider that the investigation —where witnesses testified and police and forensic reports were commissioned— was sufficiently important to compromise Valcarce's appearance of impartiality.

“Unpleasant nonsense”

Accompanied by his lawyer, the More Country deputy arrived at the courts at a quarter past nine in the morning, 15 minutes before his court date.

The parliamentarian took the opportunity then to respond briefly to the journalists and defend his innocence: "I want to be able to clarify everything because all this has been unpleasant nonsense."

Do you deny that you gave that kick?

“Of course”, the defendant has riveted.

—If convicted, would you assume any political responsibility?

One of the reporters insisted.

"It's just that I don't even contemplate [being sentenced]," Errejón replied.

Source: elparis

All news articles on 2022-01-25

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