The judge of the DANA renounces to call Mazón as a witness

ValenciaThe judge of the case has rejected summoning former Valencian president Carlos Mazón as a witness after the Provincial Court of Valencia ruled in favor of the former head of the Consell and accepted his involvement in the case. The court, in a decision supported by the Prosecutor's Office, considered that the now conservative deputy has the right to this protection because the investigation may provide information that could lead to his future indictment. Unlike a witness, who is obliged to tell the truth, if he were summoned in the future as a defendant, he could, for example, lie and not answer all parties, without consequences for himself.

In a filing this Thursday, the magistrate from Catarroja highlighted that his involvement grants the former head of the Consell rights that are incompatible with his declaration as a witness. "The witness is obliged to tell the truth [...] and cannot exercise, among other rights, the right not to testify or not to answer some of the questions," emphasizes the judge, who underlines that these obligations clash with those of a citizen involved in an investigation who has the "right to remain silent, not to testify if they do not wish to do so, not to answer some or some of the questions asked, not to testify against oneself, and not to confess guilt".

In practice, Judge Nuria Ruiz Tobarra's decision means that Mazón will only testify if he voluntarily chooses to do so, a possibility that the former Valencian president has rejected on several occasions despite the repeated offers made by the judge. Similarly, the PP politician is not obliged to provide his phone calls and messages from the day of the tragedy, as the investigating judge had requested. Another element that shows that the scenario is now more favorable for the former head of the Council is that, as a citizen involved in the case, he can request the annulment of some of the investigating judge's actions. For example, he can appeal the request for WhatsApp messages from his former chief of staff José Manuel Cuenca on October 29, 2024, to Meta, the company that owns the application. Mazón's procedural situation could change, however, if in the future the judge finds new evidence against him and the Superior Court of Justice of Valencia accepts his indictment.