The substitute judge allows Begoña Gómez to travel to London but vetoes her attendance at the NATO summit in Ankara

Begoña Gómez will be able to travel to London to attend her daughter's graduation, but will not be able to accompany Pedro Sánchez to the NATO summit in Ankara. The court has only partially granted the request of the wife of the President of the Government, who had her passport withdrawn by order of the controversial judge Juan Carlos Peinado.

The decision was not made by Peinado. The magistrate is on vacation and the resolution has been left in the hands of a substitute judge. According to information published this Monday, the order authorizes Gómez to travel to the United Kingdom between July 8 and 10, with temporary return of the passport, but maintains the precautionary measure for the trip to Turkey.

The court justifies the permission to London due to the “good relationship of judicial cooperation between Spain and the United Kingdom, even after Brexit” and due to the family nature of the event. Once she returns to Spain, Gómez must hand in her passport again on the first business day after her return.

Ankara is excluded from the permit

The rejected part affects the trip to the NATO summit, which Gómez wanted to attend as a member of the official Spanish delegation accompanying the President of the Government. Her defense had attached the invitation sent by Emine Erdogan, wife of the Turkish president, and had explained that the trip would be made on an official plane with Moncloa's security team.

The substitute judge does not accept that argument. The resolution states that Gómez does not have an active role in the summit and that her attendance is for reasons of institutional courtesy. It also points out that Turkey is not part of the European Union's area of freedom, security and justice, where police and judicial cooperation is more direct.

The Prosecutor's Office had supported the defense's request and did not object to Gómez being able to leave Spain between July 7 and 10. The popular accusations, led by HazteOír, demanded to maintain the prohibition due to the risk of flight they perceive in the case.

The passport, at the center of the controversy

Peinado agreed on June 20 to withdraw Begoña Gómez's passport, prohibit her from leaving national territory, and oblige her to appear twice a month in court. He did so after opening oral proceedings against her for alleged crimes of influence peddling, corruption in business, embezzlement, and misappropriation.

The measure was appealed by the defense before the Provincial Court of Madrid, considering it disproportionate. Peinado's order also generated strong controversy for suggesting that Gómez's bodyguards could collaborate in an eventual escape, a statement that provoked a complaint from the Interior Ministry, the rejection of police unions, and the opening of disciplinary proceedings in the CGPJ.

The Madrid Court is scheduled to study, starting on July 13, the appeals linked to the transformation of the procedure into a trial by jury. That same day, barring calendar changes, Begoña Gómez must have already returned her passport after her authorized trip to London.