The judge keeps the general of the "Mediator case" in prison to ensure that evidence is obtained

The magistrate agrees to the formation of three separate lines of investigation, one of them being kept secret

MADRID, 3 Mar. (EUROPA PRESS) -

The judge of the 'Mediator case' has agreed to keep Civil Guard General Francisco Espinosa in prison to "guarantee access to certain means of evidence that could be harmed" if his release were approved.

In an order from this Thursday, to which Europa Press has had access, the head of the Investigating Court Number 4, Ángeles Lorenzo-Cáceres, dismisses the petition of Espinosa's defense, which requested that he be granted provisional release.

The magistrate, however, denies this claim, assessing "the nature of the alleged crime committed, the penalty that could correspond to it, the circumstances of the fact and the background of the accused."

In this way, the instructor seeks to "guarantee the effectiveness of the procedural investigation and the availability of the accused to judicial appeals." In addition, she recalls that this measure was agreed "with the purpose of guaranteeing access to certain means of evidence that could be harmed in the event that it had not been adopted" it.

"This is clear even from the police reports presented by the Internal Affairs Unit of the Civil Guard. Consistent with this, the police unit has carried out an enormous action aimed at obtaining the evidence that justified the request that today the Public Ministry ratifies this report," explains the judge.

Specifically, the magistrate refers to the brief presented by the Prosecutor's Office in which she opposed her release. The Public Prosecutor, in particular, requested provisional detention "with a purely instrumental purpose and for the time strictly necessary considering that there is a real risk of destruction of sources of evidence."

In the February 16 order for which she agreed to send Espinosa to prison, the judge assured that if she remained free "it could frustrate the police investigation", confirming in turn payments for the plot and noting that more than 60,000 euros were found. at his address of "illegal origin".

The instructor maintains that Espinosa would have made "use of the personal relationships that he would have with relevant people from the public and business sectors in the Canary Islands" and that his participation in the criminal plot was "essential" because of those contacts and because of "the ability to transmit confidence to the different businessmen in the achievement of their illicit purposes".

On the other hand, legal sources have confirmed to this news agency that the Court has agreed to the formation of three different separate pieces, one of which is currently under summary secrecy.