Former socialist activist Leire Díez, indicted

MadridSeveral judges are hearing complaints against Leire Díez for alleged maneuvers to try to influence judicial processes revealed by the audio recordings leaked a couple of months ago. For the first time, one of them, the head of the investigating court number 9 of Madrid, has taken the step of charging the former PSOE member. Judge Arturo Zamarriego has opened an investigation against Díez for bribery and influence peddling and has summoned her to testify as a suspect on November 11, according to Efe.

This case originates from a complaint by Hazte Oír in which the far-right organization argues that the recordings have made it clear that Díez had a modus operandi which consisted of "meeting with defendants in various judicial proceedings and with other individuals in order to, through them, gain access to supposedly unpublished and confidential files that could harm judges, prosecutors and other professionals", all with "the task of neutralizing the investigations carried out by the UC.

Now, although Díez was a Socialist councilor in Cantabria and held various positions in public companies, she denies that she acted on behalf of the party and her version is that she was investigating these proceedings because she is working on a journalistic investigation into irregular police practices.

The case broke out with a first audio published by The Confidential In this case, Díez offered judicial benefits to businessman Alejandro Hamlyn, a defendant in the hydrocarbons case at the National Court, in exchange for digging up dirt on senior officials of the Civil Guard's Central Operative Unit (UCO). On the same day, the judge summoned businessman Javier Pérez Dolset and lawyer Jacobo Teijelo, who is currently in charge of the defense of former PSOE number 3 Santos Cerdán along with Benet Salellas, as witnesses. They were also present at the meeting with Hamlyn.

Also summoned as a witness on November 11 is Civil Guard officer Koldo Rubén Villalba, under investigation in the case. Leire Díez had several meetings with him to allegedly obtain information that could compromise the UCO. And supposedly, as she did with Hamlyn, to urge him to change lawyers and hire Teijelo. In the ruling, the judge also requests that the media outlets that published information about these meetings send the court the articles and audio recordings they included within twenty days.

Other causes

At the moment, this is the only case in which Diez is accused, but It is not the first court to investigate the matter.Madrid's Investigating Court No. 2 recently opened indeterminate proceedings against the former Socialist militant, also for bribery and influence peddling. In this case, it was based on a complaint filed by the Association of the Non-Commissioned Officers of the Civil Guard (ASESGC), which accuses Díez of attacking "the independence and credibility" of the police force. This court has not yet taken the step, but the organization is requesting that not only Díez be charged, but also Pérez Dolset, Teijelo, and Hamlyn.

In total, there are four open judicial files on the Leire Díez case in Madrid: there are complaints from the Unified Association of Civil Guards in number 26 and from Iustitia Europa in number 44.