José Ramón Prado Bugallo, better known as Sito Miñanco, obtained the third degree of prison and is He is awaiting trial for his latest open case, “Operation Myth.”
According to legal sources consulted by Europe Pressthe cambadé, approved by the prison surveillance judge, is in Social Integration Center (CIS) of Segovia.
In this way, during the week he will work Monday to Fridaybut they have to sleep in the center. Additionally, on weekends you can depart from Friday afternoon to Sunday afternoon.
This is how he faces these last days before returning to sit in the dock at the National Audience (AN), as he did on two previous occasions. I will on November 18, when the trial of the so-called “Operation Myth” begins against Miñanco; the lawyer of former Catalan president Carles Puigdemont, Gonzalo Boye (for alleged money laundering); and 46 other individuals and five legal entities for their alleged involvement.
The hearing will last until January 30, 2025 and, It is anticipated that up to 20 sessions will take place. It will take place at the headquarters of the National Court of San Fernando de Henares.
All the accused have an alleged relationship with Mito, centered on the network that Miñanco allegedly led and which tried to introduce, without success, more than 4,000 kilos of cocaine into Spain in two different operations which were truncated by investigators who had been following him since 2016.
This organization, according to the judge, was mainly dedicated to importation and distribution of narcotic substances (notably cocaine) and money laundering. Thus, while certain members of the network were exclusively responsible for providing the money in “b”, a third used false credits between family members to justify sending this money to their accounts, while another member used his security company to issue invoices. . FAKE.
“A fundamental right is violated”
Faced with this new legal procedure that Miñanco is facing, the Treatment Council He was not allowed to meet his defense without police surveillance.. In his defense brief, to which he had access Europe Pressit is explained that also They refused him the possibility of being able to go to the oral trial on his own..
The lawyer recalls that article 118.2 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (LECrim) specifies that the right to defense includes “legal assistance from a freely appointed lawyer or, failing that, from a public defender, with whom you can communicate and ask questions confidentially. “.
“Well, with the agreement of the Treatment Board that you are not allowed to interview and meet with this lawyer in confidence, but rather it must be under police surveillance, The right to defense of article 24 of the Spanish Constitution is violated“, he explains.
He adds that, for an accused to face a trial with all the guarantees, “it is necessary that the accused knows the accusation and can adequately defend himself against it.” “The right to defense is recognized as a fundamental rightand therefore it is not subject to suspension, as the Treatment Council wanted in this case, also remembering that we are only fifteen days from the trial,” he said.
And he emphasizes that one of the elements that determine an adequate defense “is the confidentiality which must govern the relationship between the accused and his lawyer”, and is based on judgments of the European Court of Human Rights (CrEDH).
For this reason, the lawyer understands that in the present case we are “facing a fundamental right that aims to be violated and even a crimes committed against public officials against constitutional guarantees.
Sito Miñanco’s lawyer therefore asks the Third Criminal Chamber to accept take appropriate measures to guarantee the right of defenseso that the accused “can meet with his lawyer in complete confidentiality and without surveillance”.
The Council’s decision
The agreement of the Processing Commission, to which you also had access Europe Presssuccinctly indicates that during the ordinary meeting held on October 30, it was unanimously decided “make an unfavorable report at the request of the inmate be able to attend meetings with their lawyers on their own and without supervision.
Judicial sources tell this news agency that Sito Miñanco had requested be able to see your lawyers on Friday afternoon, when leaving the CIS and enjoy the journey back home.
