Begoña Gómez Testifies in Court After Invoking Right Not to Speak
In a significant turn of events, Begoña Gómez, the wife of Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, has testified in court after previously opting to invoke her right not to testify during her last two appearances. On Wednesday, Gómez answered questions posed by her lawyer, former socialist minister Antonio Camacho, regarding the software scandal linked to the Complutense University of Madrid. The session, which took place at the Madrid Instruction Court Number 41, lasted approximately 35 minutes.
Gómez arrived at the courts in Plaza de Castilla around 9:40 AM. The security surrounding her presence was noticeably tighter than previous appearances, although the overall security operation was smaller in size. National Police vans had been stationed on the main street since 8:33 AM to ensure her safety. With the chief judge's permission, she entered the building via the garage. Dressed in a black suit and accompanied by four aides, she accessed the court through a separate entrance due to heightened security measures.
This marked Gómez's third appearance in connection to an investigation stemming from allegations by Manos Limpias. The group claims that she improperly leveraged her status as the Prime Minister's spouse to recommend certain entrepreneurs for public tenders. During her earlier court dates on July 5 and 19, Gómez declined to provide testimony. On July 5, she contended she hadn't been duly notified about the inquiry and, therefore, was not adequately prepared to respond to the allegations against her. On July 19, the advice from her lawyer to abstain from answering was based on concerns regarding the fairness of the legal proceedings, which targeted her on grounds of influence peddling and business corruption.
The situation has evolved further, as the judge expanded the investigation to encompass a separate complaint involving alleged misappropriation of UCM software and possible misconduct during the drafting of technical specifications related to contracting assistance and advisory services for the software. Initially scheduled for November 18, Gómez's interrogation was pushed back to this Wednesday due to a prior commitment; she had been officially attending the G20 summit in Brazil.
Gómez's decision to eventually testify marks a crucial moment in this ongoing legal saga, as it could potentially influence the direction of the investigation and the public's perception of her involvement in the controversy surrounding her husband’s administration.
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