Former Transport Minister Jose Luis Abalos was taken to Soto del Real prison on Thursday following a ruling by Spain’s Supreme Court ordering his pre-trial detention over a corruption scandal that has embroiled Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez’s left-wing government.
The court said Abalos, a senior member of the ruling Socialist Party, posed a flight risk, making pre-trial detention necessary. He, along with his aide Koldo Garcia and a businessman, is accused of rigging public contracts for medical supplies, including face masks, during the COVID-19 pandemic while he was in office. Both Abalos and Garcia deny any wrongdoing. In a related development, the Supreme Court ordered on Wednesday the provisional release of former senior Socialist Party official Santos Cerdan, citing a reduced risk of evidence tampering amid the ongoing corruption investigation. Cerdan, who was remanded in custody in June, faces potential charges including involvement in a criminal organisation, bribery and influence-peddling linked to kickbacks for awarding public works contracts. Speaking to journalists after leaving Soto del Real prison, Cerdan said he hoped “the truth will prevail and that, in the end, justice will be done.” The case against Cerdan is the most serious in a series of scandals dogging Spain’s Socialist-led left-wing minority government, which forced Prime Minister Sanchez to apologise in June and fend off calls from opponents for a snap election. In a separate Supreme Court case, anti-corruption prosecutors are seeking 24 years’ imprisonment for Abalos, the Socialist Party’s former organisational secretary, in connection with the same COVID-19 medical contracts. The court noted it had secured information “that would very likely have been concealed or would have been very difficult to access” if Cerdan had remained free. Under the court’s conditions, Cerdan must surrender his passport, report to the Supreme Court every 15 days, and remain in Spain. The court added that there was no risk of a repeat offence since Cerdan no longer holds public office or party leadership positions.
Armenia is looking to turn shared environmental challenges into opportunities for regional cooperation, with Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan highlig...
The U.S. has banned government employees working in Saudi Arabia from using airports in the country without special authorisation. It com...
In an interview with AnewZ’s Sabir Safarov, Houthi-aligned journalist Hussain al-Bukhaiti warns of possible attacks on Saudi Arabia’...
The Saudi-led coalition said early Thursday that it intercepted and destroyed a drone over Saudi Arabia’s Eastern Province.
Yemen’s Houthis have claimed responsibility for the recent drone and missile strikes on Saudi Aramco facilities in Dhahran and Riyadh and at King Khalid International Airport in Saudi Arabia, vowing to carry out more attacks in the coming days.
The U.S. has banned government employees working in Saudi Arabia from using airports in the country without special authorisation. It comes after a deadly Houthi strike on Riyadh's King Khalid International Airport killed at least 13 people last week.
Ukraine's soldiers have had their access to Starlink satellite internet restricted. Kyiv's troops use the terminals, made by Elon Musk's SpaceX, to pilot drones. A source in Ukraine's Defence Ministry said the restrictions would make it harder for Kyiv's army to down Russian drones.
Ukraine is set to restart attacks on Russian oil refineries following a two-day pause, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said, amid growing tensions with Washington over energy strikes and U.S. military support.
A Norwegian teenager recruited by a Swedish criminal network to carry out a contract killing in Britain has been sentenced to 20 years’ detention after police uncovered the murder plot.
U.S. President Donald Trump has called it “a disgrace” that Ukraine has resumed attacks on Russian oil refineries. Attacks are continuing from Russia and Ukraine as media reports say Ukraine has almost run out of Patriot interceptor missiles.
Romanian rescuers resumed their search for seven missing sailors on Friday (16 October) after a drone strike set a chemical tanker ablaze near the country’s Black Sea coast. The attacks have raised fresh security concerns along a vital regional trade route.
Students, lecturers and university staff marched on Argentina’s Congress in Buenos Aires on Thursday to demand President Javier Milei’s government implement a university funding law which would boost staff salaries and increase financial support to institutions to cover operating costs
A 16-year-old shooter opened fire on Thursday at an elementary school in Bend, Oregon in the United States, killing four people, including three children, before being killed by an armed member of the community who had pursued the assailant into the school, police said.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment