A judge from Granada has taken a step forward against number 3 of the Andalusian PSOE for his alleged involvement in the kidnapping of a councilor from the Maracena City Council from his same party. As Noel López is registered, the instructor cannot take a statement as being investigated or proceed against him.
Therefore, given the evidence collected in the case, the magistrate has referred the matter to the Superior Court of Justice of Andalusia (TSJA) to decide whether to act against the socialist leader. In this case, the alleged perpetrator of the kidnapping of Vanesa Romero, who is in provisional prison, has already been arrested.
In an order dated today, May 25, the Investigating Court asks the Criminal Chamber of the TSJA to deduce testimony against this registered person and two other non-registered persons, considering that there are indications of their possible participation in this event. The referral has been made with the approval of the public prosecutor’s office.
The decision to refer this part of the case to the TSJA is due to the fact that the Investigating Court cannot impute a registered person, since it is the exclusive competence of the Criminal Chamber of the Andalusian High Court and it agrees that testimony against the other two people not registered in order not to divide the continence of the cause and thus avoid the production of contradictory results.
In the next few days, the Court will forward the testimonies to the Criminal Chamber with a reasoned exposition on the facts accumulated in this phase of the investigation.
The kidnapping occurred on the morning of February 21, after the councilor had dropped off her children at school and met the kidnapper, whom she knew because until then he was the couple of the mayoress of Maracena.
The person investigated allegedly used as an excuse to get into his car that he had run out of gasoline and once inside the vehicle he threatened her with a gun that the Civil Guard has confirmed was simulated. At one point, he tied the mayor’s hands and feet with bridles, covered her head, and forced her to get into the trunk of her vehicle, which she parked in a store in Armilla (Granada) before leaving. She managed to escape and ask for help, after which she reported the facts to the Civil Guard. One of the lines of investigation is that the victim was going to uncover a case of corruption of the mayoress.
After learning of the resolution, López has “categorically” denied any relationship with the kidnapping of the mayor Vanessa Romero, from the Granada town of Maracena where he was mayor, and has clarified that he is neither investigated nor charged.
After emphatically denying any relationship with the facts investigated by the Investigating Court 5 of Granada, López has assured in a statement that these are based on the manifestation of a person who is “unbalanced”, not only because of what was published in the media of communication, but by what is recognized by the court order itself.
“I am neither investigated nor accused; only, a copy of the order is given to me so that I am aware of the procedural actions followed that allow me to defend myself against slanderous statements when appropriate,” he indicated.
The secretary of the Socialist Organization has anticipated that he will take legal action against the only person under investigation at the moment, for what he considers “slanderous statements”, as well as against any other person, entity or media that echoes any defamation.
