Retired commissioner José Manuel Villarejo, upon his arrival at the National Court, in December 2021. Alberto Ortega (Europa Press)
The Criminal Chamber of the National High Court has refused to postpone until September the trial it is holding against retired commissioner José Manuel Villarejo.
The former agent of the National Police, the epicenter of a macro-plot of corruption, asked last week to suspend the sessions of the oral hearing scheduled for this month of July after having suffered a "cerebral vascular accident".
But the court concludes that during those days the "physical presence" of the accused is not required, since the defenses of other defendants will intervene, and that therefore there is no reason for the postponement.
The judges make this decision after analyzing the medical documentation provided by Villarejo and a forensic report from the court.
The commissioner alleged that he had suffered a “cerebral vascular accident with paresis III for the right eye —partial loss of strength in muscle contraction—, with severe headache and severe functional limitation of eye movement”.
But the coroner explained that, “given that in principle there is no acute stroke and unless a [future] MRI or neurological report proves otherwise, the accused can follow the sessions of the oral trial from his home by videoconference.”
The hearing against Villarejo, who faces his final stretch, will resume this coming Monday.
The different defenses will communicate if they make their provisional conclusions final or introduce changes.
“With the exception of the one in Villarejo, which will take place, where appropriate, in the September sessions,” the court concedes in its resolution, where it emphasizes that this way “potential damage to his health” is avoided and respect their right to defense and that of the rest of the accused.
The magistrates add: “Therefore, there is no suspension as such of the act of the trial, nor paralysis of any kind, exempting Villarejo, in his capacity as accused and co-defendant, from attending said sessions [...] More well, a postponement of his possible intervention as co-defendant-accused is sought [...] Said decision, in addition to not harming the aforementioned defendant, seems more respectful of the rights of others to a trial without undue delay.”
The trial began last October.
This is the first major oral hearing that the retired commissioner faces at the National High Court and focuses on the espionage projects baptized as Iron, Land and Painter.
Only for these three pieces of the investigations, the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor asks for more than 80 years in prison for the former Police agent.