Swords recalls that it is due to the PSOE Code of Ethics to rule out his signature in adhering to the pardon for Griñán

SEVILLA, 31 Ago. (EUROPA PRESS) -

The general secretary of the PSOE of Andalusia, Juan Espadas, has used this Wednesday the Code of Ethics of his party to account for the limitation of socialist public positions to be able to sign the petition for a partial pardon promoted by the family of the former president of the Board of Andalucía, José Antonio Griñán, after confirming the Supreme Court's conviction for prevarication and embezzlement in the ERE case.

At a press conference at the start of the political year, when asked by journalists about whether he was going to sign that manifesto in support of the Council of Ministers' clemency measure, Espadas argued that "in the field of public office, he has a requirement that is marked within our Code of Ethics, to which I owe myself and much more as general secretary".

Article 8.1 of the Code of Ethics of this party, in force since 2014, states that "the public officials of the PSOE undertake not to propose or support the pardon of public officials convicted of crimes related to corruption, gender violence, crimes of harassment or discrimination, against sexual freedom and indemnity, torture or against moral integrity, as well as the commission of acts constituting serious crimes.

In a second point, it adds that "public and organic officials undertake not to request their own pardon if they were convicted of the aforementioned crimes" linked to corruption.

The request for pardon to Griñán is framed by Swords "in a personal, family decision, which must remain in that area", as well as stating that "we will know when it is presented, registered".

"I insist", the general secretary of the PSOE-A has proclaimed, "the PSOE of Andalusia and its general secretary want to separate any opinion or political evaluation of the party from an initiative that is personal, a family member of Pepe Griñán".

Swords has concluded that "we do the best possible favor so that it is processed from that sphere, which is how it has been proposed, not from the political sphere, not from the sphere of the PSOE and, of course, not from mine as general secretary".

On August 17, the newspaper El Confidencial reported on an initiative promoted by Griñán's wife, María Teresa Caravaca, and her son, Manuel Griñán Caravaca, requesting a partial pardon for the former president on the grounds of his "irreproachable life trajectory characterized by his fight for democracy" and that throughout 40 years dedicated to public service "he has never received any remuneration other than his civil servant salary". The initiative is at the expense of the Supreme Court publishing the sentence as of September.

The letter has the signature of support, among others, of the former presidents José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero and Felipe González. On August 8, González indicated in a statement that he had received the Supreme Court's ruling with "perplexity and pain" and defended his "irreproachable moral integrity," for which he assured that if he had the opportunity to appoint him as a member of a government that he presided over, he would do so. would do again.

The senator and former president of the Junta de Andalucía, Susana Díaz, assured on August 23 during her intervention in a television program about whether she had signed that manifesto of adherence to the insult that "yes, I said it at the time", for as of There, he will present the arguments that, in his opinion, justify the initiative, even though he has expressed that "I have confidence in the appeal in the Constitutional Court."

Díaz has maintained that "Pepe is an honest, honorable man, there are plenty of arguments to justify the pardon", while he has recalled that the Supreme Court magistrate, Alberto Jorge Barreiro, "did not see the crime of embezzlement."