The top brass of the 'patriotic police' turns a deaf ear to the Pujol case

MadridSince the Pujol case trial court accepted that José Manuel Villarejo and other members of the patriotic police When they testified as witnesses, there was much anticipation—more from the media than the courts—to hear what they would say. They had to answer questions about the maneuvers they carried out to illegally obtain banking information from the family of the former president of the Generalitat—information that was leaked to The World—and regarding the origins of the criminal case—which began more than ten years ago following a complaint filed by Vicky Álvarez, the eldest son's former lover, encouraged by Villarejo. However, the four witnesses who have testified have provided few concrete details and few certainties, and instead have offered a display of evasiveness and sown many shadows of doubt.

Eugenio Pino – former Deputy Director of Operations of the Spanish National Police –, José Manuel Villarejo – retired Spanish police commissioner – and Bonifacio Díez Sevillano – retired chief inspector of the National Police and former Interior Ministry attaché in Andorra – tried to avoid questioning. But the presiding judge, José Ricardo de Prada, stopped them in their tracks: he reprimanded them, stating that the Andorra case did not prevent them from testifying and had to repeatedly remind them of their "inescapable duty to tell the truth." Despite this, Villarejo complained: "I feel coerced by the court." The testimonies were marked by mutual recriminations and accusations, leaving the key question unanswered: who was behind the leak that led to Jordi Pujol's confession? Cristóbal Martell, Jordi Pujol Ferrusola's lawyer, wanted to know who took credit, but it remained unclear.

Eugenio Pino has stated that "many people" boasted about it and pointed to José Manuel Villarejo and Marcelino Martín Blas, who was head of Internal Affairs for the Spanish police and whom he directly blames for obtaining the information. However, Pino claimed he didn't know where it came from: "This question isn't usually asked of the police," he argued. He only became aware of it "circumstantially" and in a "tangential" way. However, the other two witnesses did not corroborate this version. The first asserted that he had "no involvement" in obtaining the bank details and claimed that a lot of time had passed: "My memory is a bit hazy," he said. The second responded that he met with Joan Pau Miquel, the CEO of Banca Privada de Andorra, at Pino's request, in a Madrid hotel, in a meeting that was not productive. And that it was after meeting at a wedding that she obtained a "paper without a stamp or signature" that "was useless." "What she published The World "It wasn't what they had given me," he clarified.

Finally, Bonifacio Díez Sevillano tried to evade the questions by saying that his duties in Andorra were subject to "professional secrecy" and were "confidential." But the presiding judge did not allow it and ordered him to answer. He only admitted that he had a "good friendship" with Roser Castelló, who was the secretary of the board of directors of BPA. However, he denied that he was tasked with finding information about the Pujol family. The last member of the Operation Catalonia leadership who will have to testify is Celestino Barroso, former Interior Ministry attaché in Andorra, whom the National Court has been unable to locate, even though he is currently stationed at the Superior Police Headquarters on Via Laietana.

Vicky Álvarez's paper

Those in charge of Operation Catalonia have also failed to clarify Vicky Álvarez's role in the origins of the case. And, once again, they have resorted to deflecting the question. First, Eugenio Pino invited the lawyers to ask Villarejo why Jordi Pujol Ferrusola's former lover went to the General Information Commissariat: "Whether Mr. Villarejo accompanied her or whatever, that's Villarejo's problem; I've never seen this person," he stated. But the former commissioner completely distanced himself. Francesc Sánchez asked him if he knew Vicky Álvarez, and Villarejo brushed her aside with a response that angered the presiding judge: "I've known many women in my life. I recall speaking with her once, but I've been divorced several times, I've had several girlfriends." And this outburst has not pleased José Ricardo de Prada: "There's no need for me to engage in these jokes."because they are not appropriate." When the lawyer alluded to what Pino had said a little while earlier, Villarejo attributed his words to "mental health problems."

Ramon Espadaler declares in Catalan

Another key witness of the day was Ramon Espadaler, the current Minister of Justice. In 2003, he was Minister of the Environment and signed the environmental permit for a landfill project in which the eldest son of the former President of the Generalitat was also involved. He essentially stated that he never received any pressure to expedite the process and simply signed the resolution prepared by the environmental committee. He was the first witness to testify in Catalan at the trial, despite the technical difficulties in hearing and understanding him. "I would prefer a literal translation, and it isn't," complained Cristóbal Martell, Jordi Pujol Ferrusola's lawyer. The interpreter excused herself, saying she couldn't understand the responses well: "It's not a linguistic issue; I simply can't hear him. It's unintelligible; I can't do my job," she replied.