The State Attorney General warns that there is still no decision made regarding Puigdemont’s indictment in the Tsunami case. After the Board of Prosecutors rejected the preliminary report of prosecutor Álvaro Redondo and appreciated evidence to charge the former president with terrorism, Álvaro García Ortiz has admitted that there may be “discrepancies” but emphasizes that the Public Ministry’s position is not defined and must be work to “build a unity of criteria.” “We will see what the meaning is of those who have the difficult task of resolving controversies, of resolving the discrepancies that, like in any other institution, occur in the Spanish Prosecutor’s Office,” he explained.
The person in charge of preparing the new report will be the lieutenant prosecutor of the Supreme Court, María de los Ángeles Sánchez Conde, the second in the ranks of the Prosecutor’s Office, which will be sent directly to the Criminal Chamber of the Supreme Court, without going through the board of prosecutors. . “We must let her work in peace,” claimed the attorney general. The lieutenant prosecutor of the Supreme Court must define the position of the Prosecutor’s Office after yesterday the two chief prosecutors of the Supreme Court voted differently, a fact that invalidated them from assuming the new report. “We have a discrepancy between two Chamber prosecutors and that must be resolved by the hierarchy, and on the other hand, visualize that we have a prosecutor’s office specialized in terrorism that is supporting a thesis before the courts (contrary to Puigdemont’s accusation of terrorism)”, he said. underlined García Ortíz. “We have several legal theses supported by the reasoned exposition and by the knowledge of the evidence and that has been maintained over the years. It is now our turn to see what the position of the Prosecutor’s Office is,” he highlighted.
The attorney general has also referred to the radio interview given by prosecutor Salvador Viada who participated yesterday in the meeting and who denounced that the discrepancies between the two chief prosecutors of the Supreme Court represented “a hidden 155.” García Ortiz stated that “it is surprising that someone who has participated in a meeting of prosecutors can go to a media outlet to reveal what had happened there.” “It is a surprising fact and one that should make us all reflect,” he concluded.
The board of prosecutors considered that there is evidence of a crime of terrorism by 12 votes to three, while eleven of the members consider that there is sufficient evidence for the Supreme Court to investigate Puigdemont compared to four others. Álvaro García Ortiz has made these statements from Barcelona, ??which he wanted to be the first city that he officially visited after his appointment on January 28. At the meeting he met with the Superior Prosecutor of Catalonia, Francisco Bañeres, and with the rest of the provincial chief prosecutors. The attorney general ordered all prosecutors in Catalonia to count how many investigated, sentenced and archived cases could benefit from the amnesty. The count, which is manual, is still being prepared.
