David Sánchez, the brother of Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, has been found guilty by a Spanish court of abuse of power in connection with a position he obtained in the public administration of the Extremadura region. As a result, he has been banned from any public office activity for a period of nine years.
The composer and conductor was among a group of 11 individuals who faced justice in May, answering charges of abuse of power and influence peddling. The Badajoz court acquitted him of the latter but found him guilty of abuse of office.
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In the reasoning of the verdict, the judicial body noted that the position of coordinator of public music schools, which Sánchez took up in 2017, was neither necessary nor urgent. It added that this job was created to serve the interests of the appointed person rather than the public good. However, the court clarified that there was no evidence of any political pressure or influence during the appointment process.
A conviction for influence peddling as well would have exposed him to the possibility of a prison sentence of up to three years.
In the same trial, similar bans from public office for nine years were handed down to nine other defendants. A more severe case was that of the former socialist leader of Extremadura, Miguel Ángel Gallardo, who was punished with an 18-year suspension from such functions after being convicted of two episodes of abuse of power. All these verdicts are subject to appeal.
This development has significantly increased political pressure on Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, whose administration and family have been targeted by a series of corruption allegations in recent months. The opposition has repeatedly called for early elections, while all those accused have denied any wrongdoing.
Prime Minister Sánchez has openly defended his brother and his wife, Begoña Gómez, who is being investigated on charges including corruption, influence peddling, and misuse of public funds. He has described the investigations as a campaign orchestrated by politics and the media against his family circle, stressing that ‘the truth will prevail’ and that his relatives are innocent.
After the verdict was announced, the leader of the People’s Party, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, declared that no one should be above the law. Meanwhile, Santiago Abascal, leader of the far-right Vox party, repeated his accusation, calling the Socialist Party a ‘mafia’.
In response, the Spanish government expressed confidence that the verdict would be overturned in later stages of appeal and that David Sánchez’s innocence would be proven in the highest judicial instances.
