This Monday and Tuesday will see the final statements from the defendants in the Kitchen case trial, the case investigating the alleged parapolice operation to spy on former PP treasurer Luis Bárcenas during the government of Mariano Rajoy, in order to obtain information that could affect the party during the investigations into the corruption plot, Gürtel. The sessions will be marked by the statements of the last three defendants pending appearance before the Audiencia Nacional.

Those in charge of closing the statement phase will be inspector José Luis Olivera – former head of the UDEF -police investigating Gürtel-, facing revelation of secrets and possible bribery–, José Ángel Fuentes Gago – chief inspector, aware of the plot– and Bonifacio Díaz Sevillano – police inspector, aware of the plot. Although the Prosecutor's Office does not bring charges against any of them, other parties involved in the procedure do maintain charges. The Bárcenas family requests a total of 41 years in prison for the three, a request also supported by the State Attorney's Office and the popular accusations brought by PSOE and Podemos.

The legal representation of Luis Bárcenas, his wife Rosalía Iglesias and their son Guillermo Bárcenas maintain that the three defendants knew of the existence of Operation Kitchen and were aware of its "illicit nature".

With these appearances, the round of statements from the defendants will conclude, after another seven defendants have appeared before the court in recent weeks. Once these statements are finished, the trial will enter the phase of final reports, in which the Prosecutor's Office, accusations, and defenses will present their conclusions before the court.

The defendants in the 'Kitchen case'

Among the accused is Jorge Fernández Díaz, former Minister of the Interior with Rajoy, who is the main defendant. The Prosecutor's Office charges him with criminal organization, embezzlement of reserved funds, revelation of secrets, and prevarication, requesting 15 years in prison plus 33 years of disqualification for authorizing illegal espionage from his ministry.

Francisco Martínez, his Secretary of State for Security, faces the same charges plus cover-up, with the same penalty requested. He is accused of directly coordinating the 53,266 euros diverted and meetings with Villarejo to organize the operation.

José Manuel Villarejo, retired commissioner and material executor, is the most punished: 19 years for criminal organization, embezzlement, and revelation of secrets. He recruited the driver Sergio Ríos, broke into Bárcenas' workshop, and coordinated surveillance and wiretaps on the former treasurer's conversations.

Eugenio Pino, former deputy operational director of the National Police (DAO), is accused of criminal organization, embezzlement, and revelation of secrets. The Prosecutor's Office requests 15 years in prison and 33 years of disqualification for authorizing from the police leadership the diversion of reserved funds and supervising the espionage operation against Bárcenas. He was the bridge between Interior and Villarejo, validating the illegal payments to the driver Sergio Ríos.

Sergio Ríos, Bárcenas family driver turned mole, faces embezzlement and revelation of secrets. He collected 53,000 euros of public funds (€2,000/month + extras) for wiretapping conversations, delivering documents from the B-fund, and facilitating the break-in at Bárcenas' workshop. They request 8 years and 5 months in prison.

Andrés Gómez Gordo, personal advisor to María Dolores de Cospedal in Génova, is charged with criminal organization and embezzlement. He directly managed fake invoices for reserved funds (meals, pistol for Ríos) and coordinated with Villarejo. PSOE requests provisional prison due to flight risk; the Prosecutor's Office requests 15 years.

Marcelino Martín Blas, Commissioner of Internal Affairs, is accused of embezzlement for delivering public money to Villarejo (part of the €53,000). He was the physical "distributor" of the reserved funds falsely justified as "security." They request 2 years and 6 months in prison.

José Luis Olivera, former head of the UDEF -police investigating Gürtel-, faces revelation of secrets and possible bribery. He is charged with leaking sensitive information from the judicial investigation to the 'Kitchen' plot to obstruct it. The Prosecutor's Office requests 6 years in prison.

To complete the list, Bonifacio Díez Sevilla, police inspector, aware of the plot, as well as chief inspector José Ángel Fuentes Gago, for whom the popular prosecution demands 13 years in prison, will also be seated.