Bárcenas declares today as a victim in the Kitchen trial

BarcelonaThe trial of the Kitchen case reaches its third week this Monday with one of the highlights of the proceedings in the National Court. Luis Bárcenas and his wife, Rosalía Iglesias, are testifying as victims of the alleged parapolice plot by Mariano Rajoy's government to steal sensitive information for the party from the former PP treasurer, an operation that allegedly took place during the investigation of the Gürtel case and the party's 'B' fund.

The couple is acting as private prosecution in this case and is requesting 41 years in prison for the two main defendants, former Interior Minister Jorge Fernández Díaz and his second-in-command, Francisco Martínez. In his testimony, Bárcenas will explain how he learned of the existence of this alleged espionage plot against him and his family and will recount the alleged pressure he claims to have suffered during his provisional imprisonment in Soto del Real in July 2013. His wife will testify about the surveillance and other suspicious circumstances at that time.

As Bárcenas and Iglesias are witnesses, neither of them has been able to attend the six sessions that have already taken place so far, in order to prevent them from hearing what other witnesses have stated and to ensure their testimony is not considered conditioned. However, they will be able to attend the rest of the important testimonies scheduled for this week, such as that of former Spanish President Mariano Rajoy and former PP Secretary General and former minister María Dolores de Cospedal. Both are summoned to testify on Thursday the 23rd.

The trial, which began in early April and is expected to last until the end of June, has placed Rajoy in the spotlight in recent sessions after the head of the police investigation of the case, Gonzalo Fraga, confirmed to the court that the alleged plot referred to the former president as "el Asturiano" or "el Barbas." referred to the former president as "el Asturiano" or "el Barbas".