BFF-23 Spanish conservatives go on trial for destroying ‘incriminating’ evidence

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ZCZC

BFF-23

SPAIN-COURT-CORRUPTION-POLITICS

Spanish conservatives go on trial for destroying ‘incriminating’ evidence

MADRID, June 14, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – The trial of Spain’s conservative Popular
Party (PP), accused of destroying hard drives that allegedly had
incriminating information on a corruption case, kicked off on Friday.

The PP is accused of “damaging computers” and three former party members are
charged with the same offence as well as concealing evidence.

The key element in the trial are hard drives that belonged to Luis
Barcenas, a former party manager and treasurer, which may have had
information about an alleged slush fund within the PP.

The party is accused of taking away the hard drives in 2013 and Jose Manuel
Moreno, one of the defendants who was an IT specialist at the PP, allegedly
wiped them clean.

That “consisted in overwriting the hard drives up to 35 times, scratching
them and finally throwing them away,” the court ruling read.

At the time, Barcenas was at the heart of a judicial probe over parallel
accounting that took place at the PP for years.

In May 2018, a court found the PP guilty of having benefited from funds
obtained illegally.

That precipitated a parliamentary vote of no confidence against then PP
prime minister Mariano Rajoy, who was overthrown by socialist leader Pedro
Sanchez.

Barcenas was sentenced to 33 years in jail and the PP fined more than
245,000 euros ($280,000).

According to the court ruling ordering the start of the current trial,
“with the erasure of the data an important investigation was prevented from
being carried out in a case of undeniable importance.”

Barcenas will be called to the stand on June 20 as will Maria Dolores de
Cospedal, the PP’s former secretary-general.

The trial is expected to end on June 28.

In a Spain-specific process, public prosecutors did not bring the case to
trial and have asked for the absolution of all defendants.

Instead, the so-called popular prosecution brought the case, a set-up which
allows any citizen or organisation to be an accuser in court.

In this case, the popular prosecution consists of a lawyers’ association
and far-left party Izquierda Unida.

BSS/AFP/RY/1815 hrs