Calvente to the judge: "Pablo Iglesias did not return her card to Dina because he feared she would leak its content"

• Declaration.Calvente to the judge: "Podemos's strategy was simple: we are going to use the 'Villarejo case' for political gain"

• Justice The judge refers the defamation campaigns orchestrated by Podemos to the Prosecutor's Office

• Anti-corruption The Prosecutor's Office asks Dina and her husband to testify again to clarify their role in the card scandal

In his statement on Thursday at the National Court,

addressed one of the points that the magistrate

tries to clarify

and the most legally compromised for Pablo Iglesias: the return to his assistant Dina Bousselham of the memory card that was in the cell phone that was stolen.

Rather, its non-return for a long time, the at least six months that passed since the leader of Podemos received it from

until he finally handed it over to its owner.

When this same year he learned that the card had appeared a long time ago, the former legal coordinator of Podemos asked for explanations within the party.

The answer that a person "very close" to Iglesias gave was this: "Iglesias did not want to return the card because he did not trust Dina Bousselham.

I was afraid that I would leak the content before the elections ”, referring to the general elections of June 2016.

The version that Iglesias has publicly given is that it was not returned until its content was broadcast in the media because he did not want to put "more pressure" on a young girl.

Calvente thus responded to a question from Iglesias's own lawyer, who demanded that he give the name of who had told him.

The witness said no, that he feared "reprisals" towards that person.

Iglesias's lawyer insisted.

The judge temporized by asking the prosecutor for an opinion, who did not demand an answer either.

According to sources present in the statement, Calvente's harsh statement was mitigated when the judge concluded that if he did not say so, it would remain as a reference testimony with limited value.

A clear objective of the interrogation of Iglesias's lawyer,

, was to present everything that Calvente supposedly knew as a result of the confidentiality between lawyer and client and, therefore, protected by professional secrecy.

In fact, as soon as the interrogation began, both the representations of Dina Bousselham and Iglesias tried to stop the statement indicating that this confidentiality was being violated, without Calvente having been authorized to do so.

He is obliged not to say anything.

The judge continued with the questions after Calvente indicated that his client had been Podemos and not Bousselham or Iglesias.

And that the matter was no longer restricted once he was reported in court for harassment.

«I exercise my right of defense;

I am protected by the code of ethics, "said Calvente.

At various times during his three-hour statement, José Manuel Calvente pointed to another of the tricky aspects of the case: the relationship of Podemos lawyer

and one of the prosecutors in the case,

.

The head of

-

,

,

was listening to him

, replacing the usual prosecutors precisely because of the suspicion that this relationship was too close.

The witness indicated that this proximity had given the party revenues.

"Thanks to Marta Flor's contacts with the Prosecutor's Office, we managed to get Anti-Corruption to call Iglesias to declare as injured."

It was just what the party wanted, since a direct request from the prosecutor expedited an appearance before the judge, which in turn allowed the formation to start earlier to make the

profitable

.

Indeed, everything was dazzling.

The Prosecutor's Office requested it and the judge immediately agreed to the statement by Iglesias.

Calvente was surprised, since what they had agreed upon before he was relegated was something else.

“We had agreed that Dina Bousselham would appear, but finally the Prosecutor's Office asks that Bousselham and Iglesias be declared injured.

I see that strange, the Prosecutor's Office must explain it, "he added, according to the same sources.

Calvente went on to explain that he had learned from the press that Iglesias had been called to testify.

When he asked the party for clarification, the response was that there was a "strategy" and that this included being summoned by the prosecutor.

Another statement that could point to collusion with the prosecutors was that, initially, they had told them that all those who participated in the chat made public in the media were harmed, at least half a dozen.

But in the end only Iglesias was called.

"One would have to ask the Prosecutor's Office why he wanted Iglesias and not the others"

Calvente added that Marta Flor had met with prosecutors before officially learning that there was an open piece on the matter in the

.

The lawyer had proposed to give the Public Ministry all the material they had on the matter.

Calvente objected and said that this should be contributed when they were part of the cause.

From that moment on, he was isolated from the strategy of the

.

In her opinion, this heterodox relationship with the prosecutors could lead to "nullification" of part of the case.

But for now the cause remains.

To the Anticorruption request that Bousselham and his partner testify again, Vox added yesterday the request for two more appearances: the lawyer and former head of the legal team

and the lawyer

.

Although today removed from the matter, both experienced the birth of the

.

Vox has also asked the judge to claim all of her chats on the matter, known only partially.

According to the criteria of The Trust Project

Know more

• Pablo Iglesias

• Dina bousselham

• We can

• Justice

• Vox

• Madrid

• National audience

JusticiaCalvente to the judge: "Podemos's strategy was simple: we are going to use the 'Villarejo case' for political gain"

SpainThe investigation of the 'box B' and the turn of the 'Dina case' drag Podemos to a judicial purgatory

Politics The alleged 'box B' of Podemos shakes the Government

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