Begoña Gómez recovers her passport two weeks after the Madrid Court withdrew its precautionary measures

Begoña Gómez, the wife of the Prime Minister, has managed to recover her passport this Thursday, after the Provincial Court of Madrid ordered a few weeks ago to annul the precautionary measures that had been imposed by the controversial judge Juan Carlos Peinado when decreeing the opening of the oral trial for influence peddling and embezzlement of funds. In addition to the withdrawal of this document, the measures included the prohibition to leave the country and the order to appear every 15 days in court.

However, the Provincial Court of Madrid decided on July 16 to withdraw these precautionary measures from both Gómez and her advisor Cristina Álvarez, after not considering a risk of flight after the defenses of both appealed against Peinado's decision. The magistrates then considered that "it is not sufficiently individualized or supported by concrete data that allow concluding the existence of a real probability of flight, resting largely on considerations that are not sufficient to support the adoption of such restrictive measures of fundamental rights," so they lifted the judge's measures.

Despite the revocation of this decision, Judge Peinado retained the delivery of the passports of Gómez and Cristina Álvarez, communicating that both had to go personally to the court to recover the documents. For this reason, the defense of Cristina Álvarez had filed an appeal against the magistrate's decision understanding that the requirement of an in-person collection lacked legal support and unjustifiably prolonged the imposed restrictions. Lawyer Chema de Pablo then maintained that this action restricted "the fundamental right to free movement, without title that allows it," an action he described as "extreme gravity."

In this context, the Madrid Court authorized Gómez's solicitor to collect the documentation.

The unexpected change of defense

Begoña Gómez has communicated this Wednesday to the Judge of the Provincial Court of Madrid, Juan Carlos Peinado, her decision to change the defense that represents her in the case investigating alleged crimes of trafficking and embezzlement. From now on, Gómez will be legally represented by Jaime Campaner, as anticipated by 'Cadena Ser'.

The new lawyer has already submitted a brief to the judge requesting an extension of the deadline to study the criminal procedure and to be able to formulate the defense brief, in the case in which Begoña is accused of influence peddling and embezzlement crimes, and which is awaiting oral trial. According to sources close to Gómez, "the decision has been made by mutual agreement with her lawyer until now, Antonio Camacho" for whom she feels enormous gratitude for "his dedication in defending her interests in a complex and difficult process in which his good work has been fundamental."

The Popular Prosecution has reduced its request for a sentence for Begoña to 13 years in prison

Before the change of defense, the popular prosecution, coordinated by Hazte Oír, had modified the provisional conclusions brief, reducing the request for a sentence for Gómez from 24 to 13 years in prison. This after the resolution of the Provincial Court of Madrid, which reduced the number of crimes for which Gómez can sit on the bench.

However, despite this reduction, the prosecution maintains the imputation for a crime of influence peddling and two of embezzlement, considering that Gómez irregularly used public resources both in relation to the activity of her professorship at the Complutense University and with the work carried out by an advisor to the Presidency.