The Court of Instruction Number 2 of Arrecife has initiated the procedure to bring to trial the councilor of Alternativa Ciudadana Domingo García, understanding that there are "rational indications of criminality" in the statements he made against the former advisor of Arrecife Cristian Caleri. It was Caleri himself who filed a complaint against the councilor, for alleged crimes of insults and slander, after he accused him of trying to pay for a bicycle with public money.
In an order dated January 9, Judge Jerónimo Alonso agrees to transform the preliminary proceedings, opened after Caleri's complaint, into abbreviated proceedings. This means putting an end to the investigation and transferring it to the parties so that the indictment can be formulated, prior to the opening of oral proceedings. In this case, in which the Prosecutor's Office is not present, the accusation is exercised by the plaintiff.
After the investigation proceedings, which included the statement of Domingo García himself as accused, as well as that of the plaintiff and several witnesses, the judge concludes that the statements made by the councilor of Alternativa Ciudadana about Caleri in several media "attack the right to honor of this person, insofar as they openly refer to his participation in an illicit activity".
A "rumor"
Specifically, García accused the then PSOE advisor in Arrecife of having tried to charge the Arrecife City Council for the bill of a bicycle he had bought for his particular use. It all began, according to the order, when a radio program launched that "rumor" and asked the councilor about the issue. "The defendant agreed with the journalist to find out and, without taking the necessary measures to contrast the information, a few days later, specifically on September 25, 2013, he stated in said radio space that the rumor was true and identified the plaintiff as the author of the facts," the judge points out.
Afterwards, García repeated these accusations in different media and through social networks. "From the proceedings it appears that the statements could constitute an alleged crime against honor," the order continues, which emphasizes that the Penal Code punishes "the imputation of a crime" to another person "with knowledge of its falsity or reckless disregard for the truth."
In this regard, the judge points out that during the investigation of this case, Domingo García alleged that it was the councilor of Police, Youth, Parks and Gardens, Jacobo Lemes, who confirmed to him that alleged attempt by the advisor to charge the City Council for the purchase of his bicycle. However, Lemes himself denied before the judge having told Domingo García such a thing. In addition, Cristian Caleri has presented in the Court the invoice for the purchase of the bicycle and "has justified several payments on account of the price", to confirm that the accusations that were made against him were false.
Contemplates prison sentences
Although the crimes for which García is finally accused will be defined now, in the new phase that opens the procedure, the initial complaint charged him with a crime of insults and another of slander (both included in the crimes against honor).
According to the Penal Code, the crime of slander ("the imputation of a crime made with knowledge of its falsity or reckless disregard for the truth") is punished with prison sentences of six months to two years, or a fine of 12 to 24 months. As for the crime of insults ("action or expression that injures the dignity of another person, undermining their reputation or attacking their own esteem"), it is punished with fines of 6 to 14 months, in case the insults are "serious".
