The judge of the National Court José Ricardo de Prada has asked the General Council of the Judiciary (CGPJ) for protection against the accusations of lawfare made by PP senator José Antonio Monago last week.
In a letter signed this Monday, the magistrate has requested protection from the governing body of the judges as he considers himself "disturbed" in his judicial independence as a result of Monago's words.
"Mr. Bolaños, the biggest lawfare case that has been known in the political history of Spain, well, you rocked it. Because a judge, Judge Prada, introduced a paragraph into a ruling regarding the Gürtel ruling, which caused the fall of Mr. Rajoy's Government," said the popular senator in the Plenary Session of the Upper House on December 12.
De Prada has defended that what Monago said, "in addition to containing false data, disqualifies in an extraordinarily serious way" his "jurisdictional action" without "any other basis than pure political interest."
In his opinion, this "seriously disturbs and disturbs judicial independence", his own and that of "any member of the jurisdiction", by issuing a "devastating message warning of discredit and negative consequences for any judge or magistrate who finds himself in "the position of having to issue a jurisdictional resolution in accordance with the law, but which could directly or indirectly affect the political interests of his party".
The judge has stressed that Monago's statements "do not correspond at all to the truth" and recalled that the Supreme Court has considered the existence of a 'box B' of the PP to be proven, "validating the evidence handled by the National Court ".
For De Prada, the references that in his opinion serve as the basis for Monago's intervention are based on "multiple and repeated articles and information prepared" against him within the framework of a "campaign of falsehoods." In this sense, he recalled that in the past he requested protection from the CGPJ for said publications, but "it was not seen fit" to grant it.
The request from the judge of the National Court takes place after last Friday Judges and Judges for Democracy (JJpD) demanded that the CGPJ respond to Monago's criticism "as it did with Junts", which directly attacked several judges of the Court Supreme.
The association's secretariat sent the interim president of the governing body of the judges, member Vicente Guilarte, a letter in which he showed his "deep concern" about the statements of the 'popular' senator.
For the association, "these statements are false, insulting and attack the dignity and honorability of Judge De Prada, who acted in accordance with the law, without being influenced by political or personal interests."
JJpD's complaint was added to that of the Francisco de Vitoria Judicial Association (AJFV), which last Thursday condemned Monago's actions. "The public naming of a magistrate by a PP senator, this Tuesday, in parliament, is unacceptable in democracy," the association said in a message on the social network X (formerly Twitter).
