Begoña Gómez already has her passport to go to London for her daughter's graduation after Judge Viejo's favorable decision

Begoña Gómez already has her passport to travel to London. The wife of the President of the Government collected the document this Wednesday at the Plaza de Castilla courthouses to be able to attend her daughter's graduation, after Juan Carlos Peinado's substitute judge authorized that trip between July 8 and 10.

The return is provisional. Gómez must hand in her passport again when she returns to Spain and maintains the obligation to appear every fifteen days before the court. In fact, according to legal sources, she took advantage of her visit to Plaza de Castilla to also comply with that periodic signature imposed as a precautionary measure.

The authorization does not change the merits of the case. Peinado withdrew Begoña Gómez's passport on June 20, prohibited her from leaving Spain, and imposed bi-weekly appearances after sending her to trial with a jury for alleged crimes of influence peddling, corruption in business, embezzlement, and misappropriation.

Gómez's defense had requested permission to travel abroad between July 7 and 10. The request included two destinations: Ankara, to accompany Pedro Sánchez to the NATO summit, and London, to later attend her daughter's graduation. Peinado was on vacation and the decision was left to Judge Antonio Viejo.

Viejo allowed the family trip to the United Kingdom due to the “good relationship of judicial cooperation” with Spain, even after Brexit, and due to the nature of the event. In contrast, he rejected the trip to Turkey, understanding that the invitation to the summit responded to “reasons of institutional courtesy”, without active intervention from Gómez, and that Ankara is outside the European area of judicial and police cooperation.

Sánchez avoids the controversy from Ankara

Begoña Gómez's absence was already visible upon Pedro Sánchez's arrival in Turkey. The protocol had prepared a second bouquet of flowers for the president's wife, which ultimately remained without a recipient. The Government had communicated the absence after learning of the judicial decision, although the image fueled political noise in the midst of the NATO summit.

Sánchez avoided fully addressing the issue during his appearance in Ankara. Asked about the judge's refusal to authorize his wife's trip to Turkey, the president settled the matter with a brief sentence: “You know what my position is”. Moncloa had already described it as incomprehensible that London was allowed and Ankara was vetoed.

The case adds another chapter due to Peinado's own role. This Wednesday, a previous document from the magistrate came to light in which he defended the withdrawal of the passport and rejected the argument that Gómez's police escort neutralized any risk of flight. To justify this, he alluded to the precedent of a president of an EU country who fled to an African country in the face of a corruption procedure, referring to former Italian Prime Minister Bettino Craxi.

The judge has also tried to de-escalate the clash with Gómez's bodyguards. In his document, he maintains that he "in no way" intended to offend or belittle the work of the agents, although he maintains that the existence of police protection is not enough on its own to lift the precautionary measures. The General Council of the Judiciary already asked to assess whether his references to a possible collaboration of bodyguards in an escape could have disciplinary repercussions.

Hazte Oír, appearing as a popular accusation, has also tried to block the trip to London, considering that the permit constitutes preferential treatment. For now, the authorization remains valid. Gómez has her passport in hand to travel to the United Kingdom and will return it to the court after her daughter's graduation.