El Supremo celebra audiencia por insulto de Belarra a García Castellón
The Supreme Court holds a preliminary hearing on Thursday to examine the lawsuit filed by National Court judge Manuel García Castellón against Podemos leader Iione Belarra for calling him «corrupt» and a prevaricator, which he considered a «legitimate interference in honor.»
Legal sources indicate that it is not necessary for Europe Press to participate in the hearing with García Castellón or Belarra, as their respective lawyers can attend to address any procedural issues. The same sources explain that with the holding of this hearing, which will be public, the matter could be resolved without going to trial.
The public hearing comes after García Castellón filed a lawsuit against Belarra in the Supreme Court last October for calling him «corrupt» and a prevaricator, demanding compensation of €240,000 as he believed these comments caused «moral damages.»
According to information available to Europa Press, García Castellón expanded his initial claim after Belarra persisted in insults following the announcement of legal action. He asked the Supreme Court to declare that the posts the former minister published on social media constituted «a legitimate interference with the right to honor.»
Although he initially requested €120,000 in compensation, the judge doubled this amount or asked the Supreme Court to set a figure «taking into account the background of this claim, given the seriousness of the injury caused and its wide dissemination.»
García Castellón warned that this amount was not chosen «at random but calculated in accordance with the provisions of the law. In his view, «there is no doubt that the expressions used by Mrs. Belarra do not have a general legitimate interest and are indignant and offensive.» He also recalled that the Constitutional Court’s jurisprudence has established that freedom of expression, «while having a broad area of protection, is not unlimited.»
On their part, they publicly defended that it would be relevant for the Supreme Court to reject the claim filed against Belarra.
As the party’s organization secretary, Pablo Fernández, stated in a press conference last December, Belarra believes that the qualifications she used are typical of her parliamentary status, in her parliamentary freedom to assess García Castelón’s performance.
Fernández stated that there is «multiple» evidence that the judge’s actions had a clear political intention to «pursue» the party.
However, García Castellón’s case is supported by the prosecutor’s office, which has already emphasized in writing that the comments made by Belarra against the judge on social media were «clearly offensive and useless.»
According to the prosecutor’s office, «there is no doubt that calling a corrupt, prevaricating, and biased judge to protect a political party and persecute opponents are objective expressions because committing criminal acts and violating an essential and inherent duty such as impartiality is always insulting.»
Despite Belarra’s argument that her comments are protected by parliamentary inviolability, the prosecutor’s office reminds that «statements made by a parliamentarian on social media on their own profile, especially if they are offensive or threaten the honor of others, are not protected by the privileges of inviolability.»
However, the public prosecutor recommends reducing the compensation from €240,000 to €20,000, considering the claim is «excessive and disproportionate.»
FUENTE
