The political defense of Santos Cerdán

In his petition demanding Santos Cerdán's release, his lawyer, Benet Salellas, outlines a line of defense that is not typical in corruption cases and which, in fact, closely resembles that followed by most of those convicted in the Proceso (Trial), or, more precisely, that followed against Latori Borràs, and that followed Laura Borràs, focusing on presenting their case as a case of political persecution. The manual that Salellas applies, and which so far has not yielded a satisfactory result for his client, is to claim that there is a "general case" whose objective is "to investigate to see if solid evidence emerges linking him to any criminal activity."

Salellas's problem is that there are audio recordings in which Cerdán himself or Koldo García can be heard talking about collecting commissions from construction companies in exchange for contract awards. At this point, Salellas attempts to discredit Koldo García, even presenting him as a collaborator with the Civil Guard. Because, and with this he may be right, why would anyone record themselves committing a crime?

Without a doubt, the most convincing part of the document is the one in which he criticizes the pretrial detention of his client, comparing his attitude with that of José Luis Ábalos or Koldo García. There is an evident asymmetry in the treatment, and furthermore, the risk of destruction of evidence that the judge cites as a reason for imprisoning him is not sufficiently proven. However, Salellas goes further and directly accuses the judge of wanting to pressure his client into confessing: "Such a practice is clearly contrary to the most basic guarantees and rights of the accused and his own dignity, as well as to the principles of criminal proceedings. And it would not be so far from the historical confession by torture; not in vain, it has been pointed out that this use of pretrial detention would place the criminal investigation carried out in this way very close to investigative torture."

It's unlikely that the three Supreme Court justices, including Pablo Llarena, who must rule on the appeal, will overturn Cerdán's pretrial detention, but they will undoubtedly have to make an effort to respond with legal arguments to Salellas's brief. Beyond the seriousness of the case, it's clear that pretrial detention is abused in Spain, and there are particularly serious examples, such as that of Sandro Rosell, who was acquitted after serving two years. Also, and this was seen in the trial, the Civil Guard often oversteps its bounds in its investigations, and finally, there are judges who, as in the case of Leopoldo Puente, base their decisions on speculation.

It's doubtful that we are facing a "general case" like the one opened against the independence movement, but it also cannot be denied that there are sectors of the state and politics that applaud a case that could bring down the Sánchez government. And if Salellas is a specialist in anything, it is in denouncing these overreaches.