Spanish judge summons former top prosecutors as witnesses in Leire Díez sabotage investigation
Spain's National Court judge Santiago Pedraz has called two former senior prosecutors to testify on July 15 about their meetings with Leire Díez, a former Socialist activist accused of orchestrating a network to derail judicial cases affecting the government and the ruling PSOE party.
The summons
Judge Santiago Pedraz of Spain's National Court has ordered two former senior prosecutors to appear as witnesses on July 15 in the investigation into alleged attempts to undermine judicial cases affecting the government and the ruling PSOE party. The ruling, issued Wednesday, calls Diego Villafañe, previously the lieutenant prosecutor of the Technical Secretariat, and Beatriz López Pesquera, a prosecutor in the same unit. Both met with Leire Díez, a former Socialist militant now under investigation, and lawyer Jacobo Teijelo at the headquarters of the State Attorney General's Office. The judge says he will decide whether to summon former Attorney General Álvaro García Ortiz after hearing the two witnesses.
Who is Leire Díez?
Leire Díez is a former activist of the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) who is being investigated for allegedly orchestrating a network to sabotage judicial proceedings that could harm the government or the party. Known in the Spanish press as a 'fontanera' (plumber), she is accused of participating in operations to neutralize investigations. Her meetings with the two prosecutors, accompanied by lawyer Jacobo Teijelo (who represents Santos Cerdán), took place inside the Fortuny building, the seat of the State Attorney General's Office. The Attorney General's Office itself confirmed to the judge that the meetings occurred.
Political pressure
The popular accusation in the case is led by the conservative Partido Popular (PP), which has requested that García Ortiz, the former head of the prosecution service, and other officials also testify. The PP's legal team asked the judge on Tuesday to summon García Ortiz, the head of the Technical Secretariat Ana García León, and the head of security of the Fortuny building. Pedraz has postponed a decision on those requests, saying he will rule after Villafañe and López appear.
What the prosecutors' office says
Prosecutorial sources told LaSexta that no one in the office knew Leire Díez at the time of the meetings.
They insist that the meetings were scheduled with Jacobo Teijelo and that Díez attended only as an accompanying person.Nobody knew her, nobody knew who she was. We found out later.
Next steps
Villafañe is to testify at 10:00 on July 15, followed by López at 10:30. Depending on what they say, Pedraz could summon García Ortiz and the other officials. The investigation, known as the 'Leire Díez case', is one of several legal threats facing the government, which has denied any wrongdoing.
