The head of the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office, Alejandro Luzón, has maintained the prison sentences he requested at the start of the trial for the mask scandal. That is, 24 years for the former Minister of Transport José Luis Ábalos; 19 and a half years for his former advisor, Koldo García; and 7 years for the alleged fixer, Víctor de Aldama. The big question was whether the prosecution would reduce the punishment initially requested for the businessman, considering his confession “highly qualified,” but this has not been the case. Such a qualification, which is the sole responsibility of the court, would allow Aldama to avoid going to prison. The possibility still exists because both his defense and, now, the popular accusation led by the PP have raised it.
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All eyes were on the prosecutor, who in the preliminary hearing last February left the door open to further reward Aldama’s self-incriminating statement. Prosecutorial sources indicate that this possibility existed but that the initial request was ultimately maintained, “without orders or pressure” from the Attorney General of the State, Teresa Peramato, but as part of the internal process to establish the position of the Prosecutor’s Office, which must be “unique.”
The PP lawyer, Alberto Durán, has indeed opted for this alternative, lowering his initial conclusions so that none of the crimes he accuses Aldama of individually exceed two years in prison, totaling just over 5 years altogether. The businessman’s defense, led by José Antonio Choclán, has also asked the court to consider his client’s confession as “highly qualified.” If so, the alleged fixer could avoid going to prison even if sentenced to a prison term.
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The other defenses, those of Ábalos and García, have finalized their respective conclusions, in which they claim their innocence and, therefore, demand acquittal.
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