The judge denies the Bárcenas driver access to the WhatsApp chats of the 'former number 2' of the Interior

Judge Manuel García-Castellón, instructor in the Kitchen case, has denied Sergio Ríos, former driver of Luis Bárcenas, access to the WhatsApp chats held between Francisco Martínez, former Secretary of State for Security, and police officers, senior officials of the Ministry of the Interior and journalists.

This is stated in a car, dated May 9, to which EL ESPAÑOL has had access. At the beginning of March, the magistrate chose to “temporarily suspend” the access of the parties to the Kitchen case to these chats.

sayings   wasap   were   recently added to the summary of the   the Kitchen case, the judicial investigation into the alleged espionage organized by the Ministry of the Interior to steal documentation that was harmful to the PP from the ex-treasurer of the party,   Luis Barcenas.

[The 'Kitchen' judge recoils and “temporarily” suspends access to the chats of the former No. 2 of the Interior]

It was Martínez himself who asked the judge to veto access to the messages, since they contained private information from third parties or data that could affect national security or be considered official secrets.

For all these reasons, García-Castellón chose to “temporarily suspend access” to said 23 chats, which include conversations with, among others,   the president of the National Court   José Ramón Navarro, journalists from various media, the former Deputy Director of Operations (DAO) of the National Police,   Eugenio Pino; the former president of the government   Mariano Rajoy; the former general secretary of the PP   Teodoro Garcia Egea   or the former head of the Central Operative Unit (UCO) of the Civil Guard,   Manuel Sanchez Corbi.

However, Sergio Ríos, Bárcenas' former driver, appealed the judge's decision, which he requested the annulment of.. Among other reasons, he claimed defenselessness. But García-Castellón denies that it ever existed.

“In this case, the elements that give rise to the nullity being addressed do not exist: no type of defenselessness is verified, the sources of evidence have been obtained in accordance with legal procedures and, in any case, no laminated the right of defense of the investigated, who can appeal each procedural decision that is issued in this case, so it is not necessary to resort to a last resort, with assessed reasons, such as the request for annulment, especially when it is not meet the legal requirements that said institution needs,” he says in his order.

Likewise, the judge recalls that, before temporarily prohibiting access to the chats, he made a “provisional consideration of the relevance” of this measure.

It also analyzed the “possible damages” that such an “urgent and provisional” decision could have. “In said examination, it was concluded that the privacy of third parties had to prevail, as well as national security issues (…), so all these factors were taken into account.”

[Prosecutor reveals that 'Kitchen' spied on Bárcenas' lawyer in a block where Aznar and politicians went]

And he points out that the suspension is temporary, not definitive. “Therefore, there is no type of violation of the right of defense of the appellant,” indicates. “There is no sign of illegitimacy in its adoption, nor in its content, nor in its procedural moment,” he adds.. For all these reasons, García-Castellón, head of the Central Court of Instruction number 6 of the National Court, denies the ex-driver from Bárcenas access to the chats he claimed.

'Kitchen Case'

Both Francisco Martínez, who was number two to Interior Minister Jorge Fernández Díaz, and Sergio Ríos have been investigated in the Kitchen case.

According to the indictment of the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor, already sent to the Court, the driver had the “absolute confidence of the Bárcenas family” and was “captured” by the criminal plot to penetrate the environment of the former PP treasurer.

Sergio Ríos, according to the account of the Public Prosecutor's Office, sent several police members of the Kitchen various documents belonging to Luis Bárcenas and his wife, Rosalía Igesias.

The driver would have received 2,000 euros a month from the ex-commissioner José Manuel Villarejo between July 2013 and April 2015, which added up to a total amount of 44,000 euros.. All this, charged to the   State reserved funds.

As “compensation for the services rendered,” Ríos also reportedly received a pistol and a position in the National Police Corps.

Anticorruption requests for him, for the crimes of concealment, embezzlement and against privacy, 12 years, 5 months and 15 days in prison.