Sánchez defends Chaves and Griñán after the conviction by the ERE: "They are paying just for sinners"

Rejects "speculating" on "hypotheses" such as the granting of pardon

The President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, has defended this Wednesday the former presidents of Andalusia Manuel Chaves and José Antonio Griñán after the conviction for the case of the ERE, with which he believes that "they are paying just for sinners", and has avoided rule on "hypotheses" such as the granting of a pardon.

At a press conference with the Prime Minister of Poland, Mateusz Morawiecki, Sánchez stressed that the two former Andalusian presidents resigned from their public responsibilities "more than five years ago" and at no time have they been accused of having profited, of having taken "one cent euro" or illegally finance a political organisation.

"We can affirm that they are paying the just for sinners", he has underlined without wanting to pronounce on the possibility of pardon, which he has described as "hypothesis". "We respect the steps that can be taken by the defenses and the Government will always act within the framework of the law and collaborating with justice," she explained.

When expressly asked if he considers the Griñán case to be corruption or not and if he rules out a possible pardon, Sánchez has indicated that they "always respect judicial decisions" and added that they have known the judicial ruling "after eleven years and with two particular votes ".

"We still do not know the content of the sentence and until September we will not be able to have a clear reading of what the causes are," he said, insisting that both Griñán and Chaves "resigned from their political responsibilities more than five years ago" .

Sánchez has stressed that "there was no personal enrichment" but there were "resignations more than five years ago assuming their political responsibilities and has praised that his Government is "clean" and has been "relentless" against corruption.

In addition, he has highlighted the Executive's condemnation of the behaviors "that took advantage" of a mechanism approved by the Parliament of Andalusia (that of the regional subsidies for the ERE), which has maintained that "it helped hundreds of workers and companies in a moment of great difficulty". "Neither Chaves nor Griñán can say that they had anything to do with what I have mentioned before," he insisted.

In this framework, he has avoided "speculating" on "hypothetical futures" such as pardon and has insisted that the Government "what it is going to do" is to act "within the framework of the law and collaborating with justice." "As we always have done", she has settled.