Lesmes departs from the deliberation on the pardons to those condemned by the 'process'

The defense of the former Catalan vice president Oriol Junqueras had presented a recusal motion

MADRID, 29 Dic. (EUROPA PRESS) -

The former president of the General Council of the Judiciary (CGPJ) and magistrate of the Contentious-Administrative Chamber of the Supreme Court Carlos Lesmes has agreed to withdraw from the deliberation on the appeals that were filed against the Government's decision to grant pardons to nine of those convicted for the cause of the 'procés', including the former vice president of the Generalitat Oriol Junqueras, as confirmed to Europa Press by sources from the High Court.

The ERC leaders convicted of 1-O had asked the Contentious-Administrative Chamber in early December to remove Lesmes from the review of the pardons for his "lack of impartiality and for mediating direct interest" in the cause.

The former president of the CGPJ is part of the Contentious-Administrative section of the Supreme Court in charge of resolving the appeals against the pardons of the pro-independence leaders imprisoned by 1-O presented by PP, Cs and Vox, among others.

The sources consulted assure that the magistrate has accepted the challenge that was presented against him and that he will not participate in any of the deliberations on the challenges presented against the measure of grace granted by the Executive.

The pro-independence leaders argued that there were "many arguments to defend" that Lesmes "is contaminated" and that it should not resolve the appeal over the pardons for Junqueras, the former president of Parliament Carme Forcadell, the former minister Raül Romeva and the former minister Dolors Bassa.

In a statement, the ERC lawyers stressed that Lesmes had stated in 2021, during the Justice Forum of the Madrid Bar Association, that the pardons were "difficult to accept" and that, at the opening of the 2022 judicial year- 2023, criticized the dejudicialization of politics.

The lawyers for Junqueras and the rest of the Esquerra leaders assured that Lesmes's statements implied a clear pronouncement against the pardons, in line with the arguments of those who appealed them, for which reason they consider that the magistrate's impartiality is "irremediably engaged".

The lawyers also provided a report unfavorable to the pardons of the TS sent to the Ministry of Justice and processed by Lesmes as president of the court, before his resignation. In his opinion, this "demonstrates" that the now Contentious Magistrate had "participated directly in the object of the appeal in the exercise of a public office, which is also cause for recusal."