Moreno Luis - is a business and economics reporter based in Barcelona. Prior to joining the BNE24 he was economics editor of the BBC Spaine and worked as an economics and political reporter for Murcia Tuday.
The Institute of Legal Medicine (IML) of Seville has summoned for May 18, ten days before the election day of May 28, the former socialist president of the Junta José Antonio Griñán, to assess whether his state of health is optimal to enter prison for the ERE case.
All this after completing the radiotherapy treatment. against prostate cancer. The purpose of the summons is to carry out a new recognition from which to issue its new forensic report, judicial sources have informed EL ESPAÑOL.
The same, according to the First Section of the Hearing, must determine if the pharmacological and rehabilitation treatment that Griñán has left after the radiotherapy sessions “is compatible with imprisonment” in order to execute the sentence. The Supreme Court confirmed his sentence last September of six years and one day in jail.
[The Court processed Griñán's admission to prison after completing his radiotherapy process]
Last January, the Sevillian court postponed his imprisonment after alleging his defense that he suffered from prostate cancer. At that time, the Court decided to wait for him to finish his treatment after concluding that his entry into jail was not convenient.
In this sense, the court explained in its last decision in this regard, dated May 2, that the new documentation sent by Griñán's defense specifies that after radiotherapy, the action plan consists only of pharmacological treatment and exercises rehabilitators.
The Court also requested last March to the director of the Sevilla I prison will report on the situation of the center's medical services. In that letter, he made it clear that it is possible for an inmate sick with cancer to be treated from prison by arranging visits to the hospital to receive radiotherapy and attend check-up consultations.
[The seventh former senior officer of the 'ERE case' and cancer patient like Griñán enters prison]
Barberá requested the suspension of the sentence long before José Antonio Griñán did, having been afflicted with the disease for more than five years. However, according to the Court, the treatment prescribed to Barberá “can be dispensed” in the prison “with the hospital reviews to which it must be submitted”.
Appeal to the TC and pardon
For his part, Griñán continues to rush all the steps to avoid prison. The last thing was the appeal for amparo raised before the Constitutional Court against the initial condemnatory sentence of the Audiencia de Sevilla.
This appeal was also filed against the judgment of the Supreme that he dismisses his appeal against that penalty and against the decision of said instance not to admit his motion for nullity in the face of such dismissal of the appeal.
[José Antonio Griñán formalizes his appeal before the Constitutional Court against his sentence for the 'ERE case']
However, both Griñán and the rest of the convicts, and all of them in prison, harbor another hope: the resolution that the Government decrees on his request for partial pardon, presented by his family on September 1.
ThePardon Law does not establish deadlines and depends on political will. The current date, in the middle of the electoral process, does not favor him, as it is a controversial issue for the Government, although after 28-M all views will already be on the general elections.
One of Griñán's hopes is that, if he goes to prison, the government's measure of grace reduce part of your prison sentence and, once this happens, you can request the total suspension of the same, as contemplated in article 80 of the Penal Code.
At the moment, these files are still being analyzed. In an interview on Onda Cero, the minister, Pilar Llop made it clear that this concession has clear lines. They have never been granted in cases of corruption, in cases of gender violence or in cases of drug trafficking in the Campo de Gibraltar.
In any case, neither of these two options, nor the processing of the appeal to the Constitutional Court nor the resolution in favor of the pardon, will free him from being able to go to prison if the Court executes the sentence.
While the parties riot in the Central Electoral Board to scratch a few minutes of promotion on RTVE, the real battle for space, politics and communication for young people is on social networks.
It is a maxim that the first Podemos already established with force with Twitter and Facebook, and that it continues to replicate today with TikTok, the network in which it continues to dominate the rest of the formations (445,000 followers) followed by Vox (136,000).
The latest BCW Spain report on TikTok, entitled From dances to vote mobilization, deduces that the social network is no longer simply an entertainment forum but an “opinion mobilizer”, without renouncing the former.. Of course, he clarifies that to stand out in the younger network it is necessary to “speak their language and handle their algorithm”, something that is not available to everyone.
According to data from the social network audience consultancy Start.io, only one in three TikTok users in Spain is over 25 years old, making the social network a perfect breeding ground for the young vote.. In part, perhaps this explains the disaffection of Generation Z with bipartisanship, although there does not seem to be much interest on the part of the PP and PSOE in getting closer to them, at least in the codes of social networks.
The old parties cannot find their place. Neither the profiles of the candidates, nor the regional ones, nor the official party accounts compete in the slightest with Podemos and Vox in national terms (the PP has 36,000 followers and the PSOE does not reach 5,500) nor with the regional ones in their respective territories. To give an example, the Barcelona en Comú account has almost 10 times more followers than that of the socialists.
[IU and Podemos demand that the JEC have free 'spots' on RTVE: “Exclusion is a centralist decision”]
In fact, even this dynamic is explained through the videos of the matches. It is no coincidence that the most watched video on the Podemos account —by a wide margin, the most followed party— is precisely one in which Lucía Muñoz, its youngest deputy, lashes out at the PSOE during the reform debate of the law of only yes is yes. It is about the controversial intervention in which he called the socialist deputies a “handful of fascists”.
On the other hand, “parties like Compromís, Más Madrid or Barcelona en Comú have a strong, cunning and imposing presence within the social network. In general, they develop strategies similar to those of their candidates, although they always give them that personal touch necessary to connect,” explains the BCW report.. “In any case, maintaining profiles does not imply achieving an impact if they are not worked well, the tiktoker language is spoken or the algorithm is mastered.”
The strategies
On this point, the communication agency highlights the strategies of some of the municipal and regional candidates who are at stake on May 28. In Madrid, they emphasize how Mónica García (Más Madrid) or Alejandra Jacinto (Unidas Podemos), who accumulate millions of views, use “very gen-z language” or trending music to address their audiences.
The great absence, they also comment, is that of Rocío Monasterio or Isabel Díaz Ayuso, who do not have their own account but appear in many videos. His tandem in the Madrid City Council, José Luis Martínez-Almeida, who shares “potentially viral” videos and does not limit himself “to following trends [trends], but aims to create them, sometimes by caricaturing himself using humor.”
The President of the Government will be live on all the evening news this Friday when the campaign for the 28-M elections officially starts.
Now, Joe Biden will not appear with Pedro Sánchez before the press: he will leave the responsibility of writing the statement about the meeting with a photo in the oval office to the communication services of his office, for which the Spanish president has been working for years.
Diplomatic sources try to downplay this circumstance since there is no agreement signing ceremony.. despite the fact that Sánchez's team is working on files as diverse as innovation, semiconductors, the climate emergency, energy, food safety and even an aerospace agreement, a field in which Moncloa sources trust they can confirm a very powerful announcement that will involve the new Spanish Space Agency, based in Seville.
“It is very exceptional that there is a joint press conference with the president of the United States, I would not give it importance,” explains a senior diplomat, in conversation with EL ESPAÑOL. The truth is that it is not usual for Biden to grant that other photo.
In the past, Felipe González was accompanied at a press conference before the media by both Ronald Reagan and George H. IN. Bush -who was united by a great friendship-. The one who did it the most was, without a doubt, José María Aznar, who appeared jointly with Bush Jr.. on various occasions, including invited to Crawford's ranch. And even Donald Trump shared microphones in the White House gardens with Mariano Rajoy, in September 2017.
2 photos Joint press conferences of US presidents with Spanish presidents of the Government
The current US president, for the moment, has lavished less on this diplomatic gesture with his guests: Emmanuel Macron, Ursula von der Leyen, Volodimir Zelenski…. they did have their joint press conference. Olaf Scholz, last March, was not pleased, in full controversy over the delivery of tanks to Ukraine.
And that, precisely in the matter of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Spanish president is one of the best and most faithful allies of the US president. The Spanish position, even before the start of the war, has built mutual trust that crystallized in the joint declaration that both presidents signed last June in Moncloa.
“There are many months of work, which will crystallize on this trip,” Moncloa sources point out. Maybe even years…. or decades, if we look at the negotiation that “will be resumed shortly” on the contaminated lands of Palomares. It is true that they say it with a little more hope than with reliable evidence, since Sánchez travels to Washington without new closed agreements, among the many that are being worked on..
A couple of weeks ago it was learned that Spain was promoting a very innovative immigration agreement with the US and Canada: our country will accept part of the migrants and asylum seekers that the US cannot or does not want to accept. And for a year the increase of 50% in the presence of US troops at the Rota base was being negotiated, which finally crystallized in the signing of the agreement last Monday.
[From the embrace of the Azores to the embarrassed president and the aggrieved flag: Spain and the leaders of the USA]
Now, José Manuel Albares has gone to Washington in advance to finish preparing the trip, as explained in the surroundings of the Spanish president. This same Wednesday, he signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to add Spain to the Global Equality Fund, which invests “hundreds of millions around the world in public-private collaboration to defend the rights of LGTBQI people”, in the words of Antony Blinken, “grateful” for the union of Spain to this initiative.
José Manuel Albares, Foreign Minister, and Antony Blinken, Secretary of State, in Washington.EE
Diplomatic sources point out the strangeness of this trip by the Foreign Minister – “a technician, a high-ranking official is usually sent…. but a minister?”-, and they agree that it may have to do with the fact that the negotiations of the agreements need political impetus, and that the minister “is a good friend of Blinken…. and the prestigious photos”.
But above all, with the fact that Sánchez's visit to the White House is more advertising than content. “They have looked for a date for him,” explains a diplomat in conversation with this newspaper, “and the Americans know that he has fallen two weeks before an election, it is a boost for Pedro Sánchez.”
years of work
The history of the relations between the PSOE that he leads and the Biden team is long and begins long before the current tenant of the White House avoided Trump's re-election, in November 2020..
The current Minister of Industry and Tourism, Héctor Gómez, was then an almost unknown Secretary of International Relations of the Socialist Executive. And already then, with Sánchez in the opposition, he commissioned him to strengthen relations with the Democratic Party, lest it be that… and he was right.
Later, the current Foreign Minister took over, who has managed to build a good personal relationship with Blinken, his counterpart as Secretary of State in Washington.
Gestures -rather, it should be said efforts and successes- such as quickly organizing logistics for the scale and distribution of evacuees at the Torrejón and Rota bases during the days of the precipitous withdrawal of the US -and the rest of the Western troops- from Afghanistan, in the summer of 2021; or the close collaboration with the American discourse since the beginning of the crisis -and after the Russian war- against Ukraine, were sowing seeds of confidence.
And it all germinated at the NATO summit in June 2022 in Madrid. The organizational success was accompanied by the diplomatic one, because the US and the rest of the allies met the Spanish demands: umbrellas for Ceuta and Melilla, and a complete chapter for the southern flank of the Alliance in the new Strategic Concept.
Biden calls Sánchez to thank him for his help in the evacuation of Kabul.
Spain is an essential partner, the gateway to the Mediterranean, and the only European country with land borders in Africa, where both Russia and China have been taking positions for years. This was repeatedly highlighted by Blinken, at a joint press conference with Albares: “Spain's collaboration and commitment to Ukraine has been invaluable and is unwavering,” remarked the US Secretary of State.
Moncloa has known how to play these cards better than some previous governments. Undoubtedly, much better than that of José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero -during whose presidency all the confidence built in the Aznar years was lost- and that of Rajoy.
Although if the record in international relations of the Galician promised little at first – and he never had time to contradict those forecasts, immersed in the reconstruction of a Spain (almost) bankrupt and, consequently, turned into “the greatest concern” in Europe – , he did achieve Trump's support against the Catalan independence challenge: “It would be foolish for the people of Catalonia not to stay in Spain,” he proclaimed together with the Spanish president, in September 2017.
Despite hosting five members of Unidas Podemos in its Council of Ministers -who row against its foreign policy- and the stumbling blocks at the beginning -the 20-second paseíllo in Brussels-, one cannot speak of opportunism or coincidence. It has been a long-term vision and the hard work of his team that has led Sánchez to sit in front of the most famous fireplace in the world, the one that frames the appointments with foreign leaders.. those who are not granted the other photo.
The Spanish score high compared to six other European countries in their willingness to introduce changes in lifestyle in the face of the challenge of the climate crisis, according to a YouGov survey and published by The Guardian, based on a thousand surveys in our country and many others in the United Kingdom, France, Italy, Germany, Sweden and Denmark.
Spain leads the table when it comes to supporting subsidies to make homes more efficient (86%), the ban on single-use plastic (75%) or tree plantations (72%). 44% of the population is in favor of using only public transport, cycling or walking in the city, and 38% of drivers are likely to switch to electric cars.
77% of Spaniards admit to being “concerned” or “very concerned” about the impacts of climate change, surpassed by France (79%) and Italy (81%). The percentages are more or less similar when it comes to pointing to “human activity” as the cause of the problem, compared to 20% who do not question it and barely 5% in the ranks of “denialism.”
The survey, however, detects a gap between environmental awareness and the will to introduce changes that alter the lifestyle. Less than 20% of the population is willing to give up the consumption of meat and dairy products. Interestingly, Italy is the country where more people (43%) would limit meat consumption to three servings a week, compared to 28% in Germany.
The United Kingdom leads the rest with a change in diet to eat seasonal foods (vegetables and fruit), supported by more than 55% of the population, although only 24% would support making the measure mandatory by law.
In five of the seven countries, the majority of the population is in favor of imposing user taxes on the plane, with Denmark and Sweden taking the lead in this chapter.. The country of Greta Thunberg is, however, the leading bottom in raising awareness of climate change, with 60% of the population acknowledging that they are “concerned”.
The two most “unpopular” personal decisions would be to limit the number of children below the desired number (below 20%) and to buy only second-hand clothes (17% in Germany, 24% in the UK).
Between 76% and 85% of the seven countries believe that the best way to deal with climate change is with agreements that put countries to work together, although there is much more disparity of opinion on the scope of individual actions.
Around 13.4 million babies were born prematurely in 2020, that is, around 1 in 10 babies were born before 37 weeks of pregnancy worldwide in that year; and nearly a million have died from related complications, according to a new report released by United Nations agencies and partners.
The document, called 'Born Too Soon: Decade of Action on Preterm Birth', prepared by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Children's Fund (Unicef) together with PMNCH -the the world's largest alliance for women, children and adolescents – raises the alarm about the “silent emergency” of preterm birth, the magnitude and severity of which have not been recognized for a long time, and which is impeding progress in the improved health and survival of children.
The report includes updated estimates from WHO and UNICEF, prepared with the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, on the prevalence of preterm births.. Overall, it finds that preterm birth rates have not changed in any region of the world in the last decade, with 152 million vulnerable babies born “too early” between 2010 and 2020.
“This new report shows that the cost of inaction over the last decade was 152 million babies born too soon.. Although some regions are more affected, preterm birth threatens health progress in all countries,” said Joy Lawn, director of the Center for Maternal, Adolescent, Reproductive and Child Health at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.
Premature births are currently the leading cause of infant mortality, accounting for more than 1 in 5 of all child deaths that occur before the age of 5.. Survivors of preterm birth can suffer lifelong health consequences, with an increased likelihood of disability and developmental delays.
To know more
Health. Ten affordable measures could prevent the deaths of a million babies
Drafting: EFE
Ten affordable measures could prevent the deaths of a million babies
extra health. “The chances of preterm birth increase with a maternal age greater than 35 years”
Editorial: EL MUNDOValencia
“The chances of preterm birth increase with a maternal age greater than 35 years”
“Behind every untimely death there is a trail of loss and anguish. Despite the many advances that the world has made in the last decade, we have made no progress in reducing the number of small babies born too soon or in avoiding the risk of their death,” said UNICEF's Director of Health, Steven Lauwerier, who has described the balance as “devastating”.
SURVIVAL DIFFERENCES BY REGION, INCOME, AND RACE
Building on a landmark report on the subject published in 2012, this new study offers a comprehensive overview of the prevalence of preterm birth and its profound impact on women, families, societies and economies.
Too often, where babies are born determines whether they survive. The report notes that only 1 in 10 extremely premature babies (<28 weeks) survive in low-income countries, compared with more than 9 in 10 in high-income countries.
“The enormous inequalities related to race, ethnicity, income and access to quality care determine the probability of premature birth, death and disability, even in high-income countries”, point out the signatory entities of the document.
South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa have the highest rates of preterm birth, and premature babies in these regions face the highest risk of mortality. Together, these two regions account for more than 65% of the world's preterm births.
The report also highlights that the effects of conflict, climate change and environmental damage, Covid-19 and the rising cost of living are increasing the risks for women and babies everywhere.
For example, it is estimated that air pollution contributes to 6 million premature births per year. Nearly 1 in 10 babies are born prematurely in the 10 most fragile countries affected by humanitarian crises, according to a new analysis of the report.
Maternal health risks, such as teenage pregnancy and preeclampsia, are also closely related to preterm births.. This underscores the need to ensure access to sexual and reproductive health services, including effective family planning, with high-quality care during pregnancy and at the time of delivery.
MORE INVESTMENT NEEDED
In the last decade, community activism around the prevention of preterm birth and stillbirth has also grown, promoted by networks of parents, health professionals, academia and civil society, among others.. Around the world, groups of families affected by preterm birth have been at the forefront of advocating for access to better care and policy change, as well as supporting other families.
On the eve of the International Conference on Maternal and Newborn Health, to be held in Cape Town (South Africa) from May 8 to 11, the WHO, UNICEF, UNFPA and PMNCH call for some measures to improve care for women and newborns and mitigate the risks of preterm birth.
First, they call for increased investment, both international and national, to optimize maternal and newborn health, ensuring high-quality care is delivered when and where it is needed.
“Our next generation depends on all of us acting now: the investment may not be small, but the benefits of this investment will be important for all countries,” said the director of the Center for Maternal, Adolescent, Reproductive and Child Health at the School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine of London.
There is also a need for accelerated implementation of established national policies for maternal and neonatal care; as well as intersectoral integration. With the latter, they refer to promoting education throughout the life cycle; support smarter economic investments, with co-financing between sectors; strengthen climate adaptation responses throughout the life cycle; and advance in the coordination and resilience of emergency systems.
Lastly, they are committed to locally driven innovation; that is, invest in innovation and research at the local level to improve the quality of care and equity in access.
“Ensuring quality care for these smallest and most vulnerable babies and their families is absolutely essential to improve child health and survival.. Progress is also needed to help prevent preterm birth, which means all women must be able to access quality health services before and during pregnancy to identify and manage risks,” said Dr Anshu Banerjee, Director of Health of the Mother, the Newborn, the Child and the Adolescent and Aging of the WHO.
A baby fertilized with the DNA of three people has been born in the United Kingdom, after doctors used an innovative procedure with the aim of preventing children from inheriting incurable diseases, the British newspaper The Guardian publishes on Wednesday.
The technique, known as mitochondrial donation treatment (MDT), uses egg tissue from healthy donor women to create In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) embryos free of harmful mutations carried by their mothers that are likely pass them on to their children.
Because embryos combine sperm and egg from the biological parents with tiny battery-like structures called mitochondria from the donor egg, the resulting baby has DNA from the mother and father, plus a small amount of genetic material (about of 37 genes) from the donor.
Although there is DNA from a donor, 99.8% of the newborn's DNA comes from the mother and father, the information adds.
Research on MDT, which is also known as mitochondrial replacement therapy (MRT), was pioneered in the UK by doctors at the Newcastle Fertility Center (North East England).
The Newcastle process consists of several steps. First, the father's sperm is used to fertilize the eggs of the affected mother and a healthy donor.. The nuclear genetic material is then removed from the donor egg and replaced with that of the couple's fertilized egg.
The resulting egg has a full set of chromosomes from both parents, but carries the donor's healthy mitochondria instead of the mother's defective ones.. It is then implanted in the uterus.
The work was aimed at helping women with mutated mitochondria have babies without the risk of passing on genetic disorders, The Guardian has learned.
People inherit mitochondria from their mother, so harmful mutations can affect all children.
One in 6,000 babies affected
For affected women, natural conception is often an uncertainty, as some babies may be born healthy because they inherit only a small proportion of the mutated mitochondria, but others may inherit much more and develop serious, progressive, and often fatal diseases.
Approximately one in 6,000 babies is affected by mitochondrial disorders.
The Guardian says the UK's Human Fertilization and Embryology Authority (HFEA), the industry's regulator, makes it easy to approve the procedure on a case-by-case basis, but has already given at least 30 the green light.
Doctors at the Newcastle clinic have not released details of their MDT program births, for fear of compromising patient confidentiality.
However, the newspaper says it learned of this proceeding from a request under freedom of information laws.
EH Bildu presenta a dos etarras como candidatos a las elecciones del 28 de mayo en los mismos municipios en los que asesinaron a sus víctimas. Se trata de Lander Maruri Basagoiti, que concurre como suplente en la lista de Bildu al Ayuntamiento de Ciérvana (Vizcaya) y de Juan Ramón Rojo González, que va de número 21 en la lista al Ayuntamiento de Irún (Guipúzcoa).
Maruri Basagoiti fue condenado en 2001 a 16 años de prisión por su complicidad en el asesinato del guardia civil José Manuel García Fernández. El crimen se perpetró en 1997. Con él, fue también condenado el etarra Asier Uribarri Benito, otro de los asesinos que va en las listas de la formación heredera de Batasuna, en su caso, por la localidad vizcaína de Maruri.
En cuanto a Rojo González, asesinó a dos personas en sendos atentados. En 1991 acribilló en Irún al joven Francisco Gil Mendoza. Por ese crimen fue condenado a 30 años de prisión en 1996. Cinco meses después, ya en 1992, mató a un policía nacional en Bilbao, por lo que fue condenado a otros 27 años de cárcel. Treinta años después regresa a la ciudad como uno más de los candidatos de Bildu.
Ambos candidatos, a su salida de la cárcel, recibieron su particular ongi etorri, el homenaje público de bienvenida que sin ningún tipo de pudor se proporciona muchas veces a los asesinos de ETA cuando vuelven a casa tras cumplir condena.
En total, el partido radical ha incluido en sus listas electorales a 44 personas que fueron condenadas por pertenencia y colaboración con ETA. Siete de ellas fueron a la cárcel por su participación en asesinatos de la banda terrorista.
Ongi etorri a Lander Maruri Basagoiti a su salida de prisión.
E.E.
El resto de condenados por asesinato que van en las listas de Bildu son: Agustín Muiños Dias, Tinin, número 6 en la lista a la alcaldía de Legutiano, en Álava; Begoña Uzkudun Etxenagusia, número 3 en la candidatura de Bildu al Ayuntamiento de Régil (Guipúzcoa); José Antonio Torre Altonaga, Medius, segundo suplente de la lista a la alcaldía de Munguía (Vizcaya); el ya citado Asier Uribarri Benito, que va de 4 en la lista en Maruri (Vizcaya); y Juan Carlos Arriaga Martínez, número 3 en Berrioplano (Navarra).
El asesinato del guardia
El guardia civil José Manuel García Fernández tenía 43 años cuando fue asesinado delante de su mujer de un disparo en la nuca. Ocurrió el 3 de mayo de 1997. El agente cenaba con su esposa en la barra del restaurante El Puerto, en la localidad de Ciérvana, un pueblo de apenas 400 habitantes entonces. Hoy tiene 1.500.
Eran en torno a las 10 menos cuarto de la noche un terrorista irrumpió en el local y le disparó a cara descubierta. El agente falleció al instante.
[El Gobierno vasco ya ha dejado a 43 etarras en semilibertad desde que controla las prisiones]
García Fernández llevaba destinado desde 1983 en el cuartel de Sanfuentes, muy cerca de donde le quitaron la vida. Era asturiano y no tenía hijos. Según las crónicas de la época, el terrorista huyó apresurado, pero tranquilo. Cuando salió a la calle ordenó a la gente que se echase al suelo. Un Renault 19 de color gris le esperaba a unos 50 metros, preparado para la huida.
Cuatro años después del crimen, el 23 de abril de 2001, la Audiencia Nacional condenó a Lander Maruri Basagoiti como cómplice de este asesinato. Tanto él como Asier Uribarri Benito, realizaron diversos controles, seguimientos y vigilancias sobre el agente que resultaron fundamentales para luego acabar con su vida.
Gracias a ellos el comando supo que el guardia frecuentaba la zona de Ciérvana, pueblo donde precisamente residía Maruri Basagoiti. Donde ahora se presenta a los comicios por EH Bildu.
[Bildu lleva en sus listas del 28-M a 44 condenados por pertenecer a ETA, 7 de ellos con asesinatos]
La sentencia rezaba así: “Conscientes plenamente de la condición de guardia civil del señor García Fernández, de la voluntad criminal de los miembros de ETA fallecidos, como del destino de la información recabada”, ambos acusados facilitaron todos los datos obtenidos del agente a los miembros del comando Donosti.
Para los magistrados “el lapso de tiempo transcurrido entre la producción y entrega de la información y la muerte del agente sitúa la participación no en el ámbito de la cooperación necesaria sino en el de la complicidad”. Con estos argumentos, el tribunal condenó a Asier Uribarri Benito y a Lander Maruri Basagoiti a 16 años de prisión, como cómplices de un delito de asesinato terrorista.
ETA y la heroína
Tal y como explica Pablo García Varela en su libro ETA y la conspiración de la heroína (La Catarata, 2020), la banda terrorista emprendió desde principios de los 80 una dura campaña contra el mundo de la droga en el País Vasco.
Arnaldo Otegi, líder de EH Bildu, el pasado mes de abril en un acto en Ciérvana.
EH Bildu
Según la banda terrorista, el Estado habría introducido la heroína como arma política para desmovilizar y destruir a la juventud vasca. Una ofensiva que tuvo como resultado el asesinato de más de cuarenta personas, supuestamente involucradas en el tráfico de drogas, y cuya acusación fue en muchos casos falsa y sin fundamento. Una de esas personas fue Francisco Gil Mendoza, donostiarra soltero de 27 años y residente en Hendaya (Francia).
Gil Mendoza fue asesinado mientras se encontraba sentado en el banco de una céntrica plaza de Irún, con su hermano Alfredo, la noche del 7 de agosto de 1991. Al observar a un encapuchado armado que se aproximaba hacia ellos, trataron de huir del lugar, pero una ráfaga de metralleta alcanzó a Francisco en la cabeza y el omóplato izquierdo antes de que pudiera reaccionar.
Francisco Gil Mendoza falleció horas después en un centro sanitario de San Sebastián y fue enterrado en el cementerio donostiarra de Polloe. ETA justificó el atentado por su presunta vinculación al tráfico de estupefacientes, pues habían sido detenidos varias veces por tráfico de heroína.
Uno de los condenados por ese asesinato fue Juan Ramón Rojo González. El otro, es el etarra arrepentido Iñaki Recarte Ibarra. A ambos les condenaron a más de 30 años de prisión.
Rojo González perteneció al comando Vizcaya y al comando Donosti. Poco después de matar en Irún, municipio donde ahora se presenta, cooperó en el asesinato del policía nacional José Ansean el 14 de enero de 1992.
Tomás Pérez-Sauquillo, expresidente de Invercaria, la empresa pública de inversión y gestión de capital riesgo de la Junta de Andalucía bajo los gobiernos del PSOE, ha conseguido que la Audiencia de Sevilla suspenda su entrada en prisión, pese a tener una condena firme del Supremo.
El tribunal ha tomado esta decisión mientras se tramita su petición de revisión de condena merced a la reciente reforma legislativa del delito de malversación por parte del Gobierno de Pedro Sánchez. También ha pesado su reclamación de suspensión extraordinaria de su pena de cárcel por su estado de salud.
Padece una cardiopatía tras dos operaciones a corazón abierto en 2011 y 2021 y una patología urológica grave por la que ha estado varios días ingresados recientemente. Además, sus visitas a los centros médicos son casi diarias.
[El TS condena a un ex alto cargo socialista andaluz por ayudas a una empresa de aceitunas eróticas]
Pérez-Sauquillo fue condenado por el Supremo a tres años y medio de prisión y a seis años y medio de inhabilitación absoluta por un delito de prevaricación en concurso medial con un delito de malversación de caudales públicos al conceder la que podría ser la ayuda más picante de las juzgadas hasta ahora.
El presidente de la entidad concedió en 2009 de manera arbitraria un préstamo de 100.000 euros a la empresa aceitunas Tatis para la comercialización deuna supuesta ‘línea erótica’ de aceitunas de mesa gurmé.
Sin embargo, por el momento no entrará en prisión, según figura en un auto emitido el pasado 2 de mayo por la Sección Primera de la Audiencia de Sevilla y difundido por la Oficina de Comunicación del Tribunal Superior de Justicia de Andalucía (TSJA).
En el mismo, aborda un recurso de súplica del expresidente de Invercaria contra el auto emitido en enero por dicha instancia que ordenaba su inmediato ingreso voluntario en la cárcel.
[Ordenan el ingreso en prisión de un ex alto cargo de la Junta por la ayuda a las ‘aceitunas eróticas’]
Según el Supremo, Pérez-Sauquillo decidió dar un préstamo a Aceitunas Tatis “sin comprobar mínimamente” su situación económica y contable, la viabilidad para acometer un proyecto o proyectos acordes con la finalidad del préstamo que se concedía, y si el dinero recibido por Aceitunas Tatis había sido invertido en algún proyecto de interés público”.
En una entrevista reciente a este periódico, el exdirectivo negó la mayor. Además, aseguró sin temblarle la voz que el Supremo lo condenó porque “los magistrados no se han leído el recurso”. No obstante, insistió en que durante este proceso había sufrido una segunda indefensión: “Me aplicaron el Código Penal de 2015 por unos hechos que ocurrieron entre 2005 y 2010 y que no eran delito entonces. Es una auténtica barbaridad”, señala.
De ser condenado, precisó Pérez-Sauquillo, lo hubiera sido “por administración desleal y no por malversación. Todo se hubiera quedado en el pago de unas multas”. No obstante, insistió en que todas las ayudas las concedió “de manera legal”, pero por un fallo técnico del servidor de Invercaria “no se pudieron aportar al sumario los correos que lo demuestran”.
Otras condenas
En total, Pérez-Sauquillo se ha sentado en el banquillo hasta en siete ocasiones por la concesión de ayudas supuestamente irregulares y pesan sobre él cuatro condenas, todas recurridas al Supremo.
[Absueltos ex altos cargos del PSOE andaluz por las ayudas de 700.000 € para una web de ferias virtuales]
También ha sido absuelto de otras tantas. Recientemente lo ha sido por el caso FIVA, la primera macrocausa de Invercaria, por las ayudas de 716.000 euros a una empresa de base tecnológica para montar un portal de ferias virtuales en 3D.
Licenciado en Derecho, Pérez-Sauquillo recaló en Andalucía a finales de los años 90tras presentar su dimisión como director financiero en Villar Mir. Entonces empezó de cero con un proyecto de viviendas tuteladas para mayores, que iba a instalar en la localidad sevillana de Gelves.
Aunque aquel proyecto no llegó a fructificar, siguió con sus negocios inmobiliarios y, cuando estaba inmerso en la ampliación del Puerto Banús, le llamó Francisco Vallejo para que se hiciera con las riendas de Invercaria. Hace unas semanas reconoció a este medio que fue el mayor error de su vida.
No han pasado ni veinticuatro horas desde que Bruselas volviera a exigir a España la renovación del Consejo General del Poder Judicial y el PP ya ha movido ficha. En el próximo pleno en el Congreso de los Diputados, llevará su plan para que “los jueces elijan a los jueces”, como exige la Comisión Europea.
Este martes, en rueda de prensa, la portavoz parlamentaria de los populares, Cuca Gamarra, ha avanzado que su grupo pedirá que la tramitación de proposición de ley que recoge su propuesta judicial se produzca por la vía de urgencia.
De esta manera, ha defendido la también número dos de Feijóo, durante la presidencia española de la Unión Europea nuestro país ya podrá estar homologado a lo que piden las instituciones comunitarias.
Según ha reprochado Gamarra, “Sánchez lleva bastante mal la separación de poderes; es lo contrario al sanchismo, ya que siempre que ha tenido oportunidad ha intentado controlar al poder judicial”.
Este lunes, el comisario europeo de Justicia, Didier Reynders, instó al Gobierno y al PP a acordar la renovación del máximo órgano de gobierno de los jueces. A ser posible, antes de que, el próximo 1 de julio, Pedro Sánchez asuma la presidencia de turno de la UE.
La petición de Reynders
Reynders insistió en esta recomendación ante el rey Felipe VI, durante un acto organizado en Madrid por la Asociación Mundial de Juristas (WJA), al que también asistió la ministra de Justicia, Pilar Llop.
“Recomendamos proceder a la renovación del CGPJ”, señaló el comisario europeo. “Es una prioridad e, iniciar inmediatamente después un proceso con el fin de adaptar el nombramiento de sus miembros teniendo en cuenta los estándares europeos”, aseveró al respecto.
[Colapsa el pacto del Poder Judicial tras confirmar Sánchez a Feijóo que rebajará la sedición]
Desde hace varios meses, el Ejecutivo Comunitario apremia al Gobierno español a acordar la renovación del CGPJ, cuyo mandato está caducado desde diciembre de 2018. Además, Bruselas también exige modificar el modelo de elección para reforzar el peso de los jueces en la designación de los vocales.
En ese sentido, los populares estuvieron cerca de renovar el Consejo en el mes de octubre. Entonces, ya pusieron al Gobierno la condición de acordar también un cambio en el sistema de elección de los vocales para que fructificase la negociación.
El pacto entre Gobierno y oposición para renovar el mandato caducado del CGPJ no se llegó a producir por la confirmación de Sánchez de que tenía intención de reformar el delito de sedición para contentar a los socios independentistas de ERC.
Un perito tasará el anillo de compromiso por el que pleitean dos exnovios que no llegaron a casarse. Arturo (nombre ficticio) le regaló a Blanca (ídem) la alianza en septiembre de 2020. Y ahora, tras haber roto su relación sentimental, ambos se enfrentan en los tribunales por la joya.
Este martes se ha celebrado la audiencia previa ante el Juzgado de Primera Instancia número 13 de Madrid. La juez titular del mismo ha fijado la fecha del juicio para el próximo diciembre.
La defensa de Arturo ha solicitado que un perito tase el anillo. Y la juez lo ha aceptado. En un escrito, firmado por los abogados Emilia Zaballos y Francisco Jiménez y al que ha tenido acceso EL ESPAÑOL, también han pedido al Juzgado que obligue a Blanca a “conservar la joya en perfecto estado” y entregarla al perito para su análisis.
[Condenada a devolver 120.000 euros por vender toneladas de chatarra que se declararon bien cultural]
Acabado el amor, la batalla judicial comenzó cuando Arturo demandó a su ex para reclamarle el anillo, fabricado en diamantes, que ella se niega a devolverle. Blanca, por su parte, sostiene que se trata de una simple joya, que no sellaba compromiso alguno, que no había boda a la vista.
Ambos se conocieron cuando estaban casados con otras personas. Ella, de hecho, era entonces la pareja de un exministro. “Comenzaron a salir en marzo de 2019, cuando deciden dar un paso más en la relación de amantes que mantenían”, expone la demanda de Arturo que dio origen a este proceso. Poco después, los dos se divorciaron y no tardaron en empezar a vivir juntos.
Una noche en el Parador
En septiembre de 2020, tras más de un año de relación, la pareja acudió a un Parador de cuatro estrellas. Según su versión, Arturo, rodilla en tierra, le pide matrimonio mientras toman el desayuno y ella le da su sí.
“De forma sorpresiva y con galantería, (…) Arturo pide matrimonio a doña Blanca, entregándole un solitario de pedida. Ella acepta con alegría la petición y ambos comienzan a soñar con la boda mientras terminan el desayuno”, relataba la demanda.
De hecho, la juez ha aceptado que declaren como testigos la encargada del comedor y el camarero encargado del desayuno que estaban presentes cuando se produjo la (supuesta) petición de matrimonio. Ahora, el Juzgado tendrá que dirigirse al Parador para solicitar la identidad de estos trabajadores y poder citarles.
El anillo es una joya de lujo: hecha a mano, en platino, engastada con un importante diamante brillante de 5,09 quilates. ¿Cuál es su precio? Arturo aseguró que pagó por él 45.000 euros, pero que su valor puede haber aumentado desde entonces.
[Una juez decidirá si una novia debe devolver un anillo de diamantes de 45.000 € al no haber boda]
La visita al Parador también está constatada con una factura, de 225 euros (una noche y desayuno para dos personas incluido). La entonces feliz pareja regresó a Madrid en un caro coche que Arturo acababa de comprar. En su demanda, también adjuntó una foto de Blanca luciendo el anillo mientras lo conduce. Ella, poco después, le regalaría un caro reloj de oro de marca IWC.
¿Un regalo de santo?
Aunque coinciden en algunas cosas, las versiones de Arturo y Blanca difieren en lo fundamental. En respuesta a la demanda, la defensa de Blanca asegura que ella siempre manifestó que “nunca se volvería a casar”. Tanto a Arturo como a su entorno: a sus amigas, a su familia…
“Ninguna expectativa matrimonial podría generarse en don Arturo y, por consiguiente, ninguno de los regalos que hubo durante la relación sentimental pudo basarse en una promesa de matrimonio”, reza el escrito de la defensa de Blanca en contestación a la demanda.
Asimismo, sus abogados niegan lo romántico de aquella visita al Parador. “No es cierto que decidieran hacer una escapada juntos ese fin de semana (…); todo lo contrario, mi representada decidió acompañar a Arturo a un viaje de trabajo y el alojamiento en el Parador fue fruto de improvisación (…), al no tener otro lugar donde dormir”, insiste el escrito.
Lo que sí reconocen es que aquel día, por la mañana, él le entregó un caro anillo. Las fechas coinciden, pero no el motivo. Los letrados de Blanca defienden que fue un mero regalo, porque ese día se celebraba su santo. Y que no fue, en ningún caso, una propuesta matrimonial.
Y reiteran que la joya también fue una “muestra de gratitud”, ya que Blanca “ayudó económicamente” a Arturo durante la pandemia de la Covid-19. Cuando mejoró su situación financiera y obtuvo un relevante cargo en una empresa, “se compró un vehículo de ultralujo (…) y le regaló a mi representada el anillo”, subraya la defensa de Blanca, que cifra entre 27.000 y 30.000 el precio de la joya.
La defensa de Arturo exige que la juez obligue a la exnovia a devolver el anillo. O, si ya no lo tuviese en su poder, que le abone 45.000 euros.
Para ello, su abogada Emilia Zaballos se basa enel art. 1.342 del Código Civil. “Quedarán sin efecto las donaciones por razón de matrimonio si no llegara a contraerse en el plazo de un año”, establece dicho artículo.
La defensa de Blanca niega la mayor. Y defiende que nunca hubo una lista de boda, ni fecha para el enlace, ni ubicación para la ceremonia… Porque, a su juicio, nunca hubo intención—ni individual ni común—de casarse, por lo que “la donación es irrevocable”. Ahora, será la Justicia la que tenga la última palabra.
