• Courts "It is inhumane that my brother is imprisoned with cancer"

The defense of the former socialist president of the Junta de Andalucía José Antonio Griñán, sentenced to 6 years and one day in prison for crimes of prevarication and embezzlement for the 'ERE case', has filed an appeal before the Constitutional Court (TC) against the sentence of the Audience of Seville that condemned him and against the subsequent refusals of the Supreme Court to revoke it.

This has been confirmed to Europa Press sources of the defense of Griñán, since recently, the First Section of the Audience of Seville requested the representation of the former president to provide all the medical reports available in order to proceed to a new medical examination by the Institute of Legal Medicine (IML) ", to resolve whether the former president can be treated in prison for the prostate cancer he suffers and alleges to claim the suspension of his prison sentence.

A few days ago, the former Socialist Deputy Minister of Employment Agustín Barberá, sentenced to seven years and one day in prison for embezzlement in the same case, entered prison to serve the sentence imposed by the Audiencia de Sevilla, which recently rejected his request to suspend his sentence before the very serious illness with incurable conditions alleged by it. According to the Court, the treatment prescribed to Barberá "can be dispensed" in the penitentiary center "with the hospital examinations to which he must be subjected."

In the case of Griñán, the Court gave an account weeks ago of the documentation issued by the Penitentiary Center of Seville after being required in January a report "on the possibility of treatment" in prison of prostate cancer alleged by the former Andalusian president to request the suspension of his prison sentence.

The prison agreement with the SAS

In its report, the Penitentiary Center of Seville stated that for "specialized" medical care, it has an agreement with the Andalusian Health Service (SAS) to refer incarcerated patients to the "specialized services" of the Macarena and Virgen del Rocío hospitals, including in the "process of integral care" agreed the "therapeutic procedures such as chemotherapy or radiotherapy sessions", among other aspects.

On January 13, the Court agreed to postpone its decision on the entry or not in prison of the former socialist president "until the conclusion of the radiotherapy sessions" of the treatment that had begun then thanks to the prostate cancer that has been diagnosed.

This, given the forensic report prepared by the Institute of Legal Medicine (IML) of Seville on this serious illness wielded by the former Andalusian president in demand of the suspension as such of his entry into prison. To this end, the report concluded "the inconvenience of his admission to a prison until the remission of his oncological pathology is confirmed".

In its order of January 13, the First Section of the Hearing indicated that, in view of the forensic medical report, "from which it is clear that it is not convenient for the prisoner to enter the prison, the execution of the sentence should be postponed until the prisoner finishes the radiotherapy sessions". thus acceding to Griñán's subsidiary request.

Griñán's defense had requested the suspension of the sentence as such under Article 80.4 of the Criminal Code, which provides that judges and courts may grant the suspension of any sentence imposed without being subject to any requirement in the event that the prisoner is suffering from a very serious illness with incurable conditions.

In the alternative, he had requested the postponement of his admission to prison, while he considered that the treatment prescribed for the illness he suffers from cannot be adequately developed by the medical services of the penitentiary centre.

Risks of treatment in the penitentiary

And all this, adds the court, "given the inconveniences and risks that could entail the treatment from the penitentiary center, both from the point of view of the disease and the dynamics of the same penitentiary center."

Thus, it indicated that, once the treatment is finished, "it must be recognized again by the forensic doctor, who, after having received the treatment, will be able to assess again, with more data, the convenience and possibility of his admission to the penitentiary center, an extreme that at this time and given that the disease is in an initial stage can not be predicted. "

In this sense, the First Section of the Hearing also agreed that a report be requested from the health services of the penitentiary center "on the possibility of treatment of the disease in said center".

Once all the above has been verified, the court will rule on the suspension requested by the defense of the former president of the Junta de Andalucía under article 80.4 of the Criminal Code, which, as has been indicated, regulates the suspension of any sentence imposed without being subject to any requirement in the event that the prisoner is suffering from a very serious illness with incurable conditions.

  • Constitutional court
  • Seville
  • Justice
  • José Antonio Griñán

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