The Supreme Court keeps Cerdán in prison due to "risk of destruction of evidence."
The appeals court also upholds the "managerial" role of the former number three of the PSOE in the plot.
BarcelonaThe Supreme Court has remanded Santos Cerdán, former PSOE organizational secretary, in pretrial detention. The appeals court finds there is a "risk of destruction of evidence" and thus dismisses the appeal filed by the defense after the investigating judge, Leopoldo Puente, ordered him to be held without bail on June 30 for possible charges of membership in a criminal organization, bribery, and influence peddling. The same court also finds there is evidence that Cerdán played a "managerial and controlling role" in the scheme for which he is being investigated, involving the alleged receipt of commissions from the awarding of public works contracts to various companies.
Precisely this "managerial role" and the "substantial and powerful" evidence included in the ruling are what the court is using to uphold Puente's argument regarding the possible destruction of evidence that could "irreparably and seriously" harm the investigation. It highlights, for example, Koldo's recordings as "extraordinarily eloquent of the reality of the events" and Cerdán's participation.
The appeals court also considers that Cerdán's fundamental role has been uncovered "without the investigation revealing all the companies that ultimately benefited," or "how the payment was agreed upon and the illicitly obtained money was subsequently hidden." Thus, it dismisses the arguments of the defense of the former number three of the PSOE, which on Tuesday alleged that Cerdán suffers a "presumption of indecency" in the hearing held to examine the appeal.
The PP's reaction
The People's Party (PP) reacted swiftly to this decision. Within minutes of the announcement, party sources attacked Sánchez, asserting that the Spanish prime minister "would be nobody" without Cerdán, and neither would he be without Ábalos. They said that the decision "extends his prison term, just as Sánchez extends his agony by clinging to office." The PP emphasizes the role attributed to him by the Supreme Court and the fear of evidence being destroyed, noting that the decision coincides precisely with the second anniversary of the elections that led to Sánchez's re-election as prime minister.
