The judge of Instruction number 4 of Santa Cruz de Tenerife has opened two other separate pieces with the information provided by the intermediary who gives name to the "Mediator case", as well as with the evidence collected in the records, one of which has been declared secret. In addition, she has also refused to release retired Civil Guard General Francisco Espinosa Navas, in provisional prison since February 16 for his alleged involvement in crimes of bribery, influence peddling and participation in an organized criminal group.
The Superior Court of Justice of the Canary Islands has confirmed this Friday, which has also stated that, as of today, there is no more accusation in the case than the Public Prosecutor's Office, although there are five requests for appearance that have not yet been answered.
In recent days, they have expressed their willingness to appear as an accusation in this procedure the Popular Party, the PSOE, Vox and the Unified Association of Civil Guards.
The TSJC confirms that one of the entities that has requested to appear has appealed the order for the release of the alleged leader of the plot, the former socialist deputy Juan Bernardo Fuentes Curbelo, but his request has not yet been taken into consideration because he is not formally part of the procedure.
It was Vox the party that this Thursday announced through a statement that it had appealed the release of Fuentes Curbelo, whom the instructor allowed to leave her Court after testifying "by legal imperative", because the Prosecutor's Office had not requested precautionary measures against him, as the magistrate herself explained in the order, who was in favor of detaining him in pre-trial detention to avoid the risk of him destroying evidence.
Espinosa will remain in pre-trial detention
The only one of the twelve detainees in pre-trial detention is still the retired Civil Guard General Francisco Espinosa Navas, whose defense has appealed. The judge has transferred his request to be released to the Public Prosecutor's Office, so that it can report.
In an order notified this Friday, which EFE has had access to, the judge responds to Espinosa's defense that the reasons for which she ordered his imprisonment remain, which was justified by the need to avoid the destruction of evidence.
The judge, who is supported by the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office in this decision, emphasizes that the Internal Affairs Service of the Civil Guard has carried out a "huge action" to collect evidence and data of interest for this case, without any "dereliction of duty or police inaction during the scarce two weeks in which the challenged provisional prison is in force".
The instructor shares with the Prosecutor's Office that Espinosa Navas must be kept in prison "for the time strictly necessary" so as not to compromise the investigation, because she considers that at this time there is "a real risk of destruction of evidence".
Therefore, she agrees to "the maintenance of the precautionary measure, not to analyze the evidence, but to obtain it".
In this case, General Espinosa Navas is accused of collaborating in a plot that charged bribes to businessmen from various sectors in exchange for obtaining contracts, public aid or stopping sanctioning files.
