This afternoon, Pedro S\u00e1nchez's government received a major setback on the judicial front regarding its corruption cases.<\/p>\n
In a unanimous ruling, the Second Chamber of the Supreme Court has sentenced former socialist minister Jos\u00e9 Luis \u00c1balos to 24 years and 3 months in prison for a total of nine crimes<\/a>, including criminal organization, bribery, embezzlement of public funds, and influence peddling. The Supreme Court has stated that \"in application of the rule provided for in art. 76 of the Penal Code, it implies a maximum effective sentence of fifteen years and eighteen months in prison<\/strong>\".<\/em><\/p>\n Furthermore, his collaborator, the socialist Koldo Garc\u00eda Izaguirre, has been sentenced to 19 years, 8 months, and 1 day in prison<\/strong> for the same crimes. The lesser sentence is justified by the court, which points out that Garc\u00eda \"occupies a subordinate civil service position with respect to the aforementioned defendant, for whom he is merely an advisor.\"<\/em><\/p>\n Furthermore, businessman V\u00edctor de Aldama has been sentenced to 4 years and 6 months in prison for crimes of organized crime and bribery<\/strong>. However, in his case, the court \"has agreed to suspend the execution of the sentence due to his contribution to the discovery of the crimes and on the condition that he does not commit any further offenses<\/strong>, submits a semi-annual activity report, and performs community service for one year.\"<\/em><\/p>\n The Spanish left has erupted in anger at the fact that Aldama will not be imprisoned<\/strong>, pointing to this as an anomaly. Apparently, the left has already forgotten that Jos\u00e9 Luis Pe\u00f1as, former PP councilor, was sentenced to 4 years and 9 months in prison for the G\u00fcrtel case<\/a>. However, just like Aldama, he did not go to prison because he cooperated with the Justice system<\/a>. The sentence that was not commuted was the disqualification from holding public office, but Pedro S\u00e1nchez's government granted him a partial pardon in 2024<\/a> so that he could return to his civil service position.<\/strong> The Supreme Court had issued a report in favor of this partial pardon.<\/p>\n The different reactions of Spanish socialism to both cases have an explanation.<\/strong> Jos\u00e9 Luis Pe\u00f1as cooperated with the Justice system to uncover a serious corruption case involving the People's Party, while Aldama has done so to uncover a corruption case affecting the PSOE. The socialists see no problem in rewarding criminals who cooperate with the Justice system as long as it's not to expose their own corruption.<\/strong> This is the level of sectarianism and shamelessness to which Spanish socialism has sunk in its eagerness to enjoy total impunity.<\/p>\n
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