The trial against Ábalos for the masks will coincide with the trial of Rajoy's former Interior Minister

MadridThe Supreme Court has unanimously rejected all preliminary issues raised by José Luis Ábalos and Koldo García on the eve of the trial for the purchase of sanitary material during the pandemic. The former Minister of Transport and his former advisor will sit on the defendant's bench, along with the businessman Víctor de Aldama, starting Tuesday, April 7, the day after the trial of the Kitchen case against Jorge Fernández Díaz and his leadership in the Ministry of the Interior during Mariano Rajoy's time begins. Three weeks after the preliminary hearing of the mask case, the high court dismisses sending the trial to the National Court following Ábalos' resignation from his deputy seat. In a 138-page order, it also closes the door, for example, to a polygraph confrontation between Koldo García and Víctor de Aldama and to submitting a preliminary question to the Court of Justice of the European Union.

In the chapter on witnesses, it gives the green light to all those requested by prosecutor Alejandro Luzón, including two important figures from Pedro Sánchez's circle: Francina Armengol – current president of the Congress of Deputies and former president of the Balearic Islands – and Ángel Víctor Torres – Minister of Territorial Policy since 2023 and former president of the Canary Islands –. On the other hand, it will not summon the Spanish president, nor María Jesús Montero – first vice-president of the Spanish government –, nor Fernando Grande-Marlaska – Minister of the Interior –, nor Salvador Illa – current president of the Generalitat and Minister of Health during the pandemic –. The Prosecutor's Officerequests 24 years in prison for Ábalos, 19 and a half years for Koldo, and seven years for Aldama. They are accused of five crimes: belonging to a criminal organization, bribery, embezzlement, influence peddling, and the use of privileged information.