The recently retired National Court judge, Manuel Garcia-Castellónhe now demands 240,000 euros compensation to the leader of Podemos, Ione Belarrain his claim for the right to honor for having persisted in his insults and in the use of expressions “scandalous and offensive” against the magistrate. García-Castellón sued the Podemita leader last September for calling him “corrupt” and “prevaricator”. Initially, the judge asked for compensation of 120,000 euros, and now he is asking for double that amount because of the persistence of the MP from the Purple Party in her attacks and because she is far from retracting. This extension comes after the Supreme Court prosecutor declared that the Civil Chamber to which the magistrate addresses is competent to decide the facts.
The origin of this complaint dates back to September 2, when the Official State Gazette (BOE) published the forced retirement of García-Castellón after having exceeded the maximum age authorized by law. the 72 years. “Today the BOE publishes the forced retirement of Judge García-Castellón. We said it months ago and now it is confirmed, this and other corrupt judges, who have prevaricated against those of us who defend another idea of Spain, They will take it slowly without any sanction thanks to the PSOE. Shame”, said Ione Belarra in a message posted on social networks. Manuel García-Castellón decided to sue Belarra for the right to honor, describing him as “defamation” the words spoken by the podemita leader.
Today the BOE publishes the forced retirement of Judge García-Castellón. We said it months ago and now it is confirmed, this judge and other corrupt judges, who prevaricated against those of us who defend another idea of Spain, will get away with it without any sanction thanks to the PSOE. Shame.
– Ione Belarra (@ionebelarra) September 2, 2024
The lawsuit says Belarra’s comments “exceed the threshold for protecting free speech, since they are not limited to legitimate criticism, but constitute a direct and personal attack to the integrity and reputation” of García-Castellón, “with expressions that have no reasonable relationship to legitimate criticism and are disproportionate and unnecessary to convey any informative objective.”
“There is no doubt that the expressions used by Belarra lack legitimate public interest and are scandalous and offensive“, underlines the complaint, also defending that “the protection of the right to honor must prevail in this case over freedom of expression, since the Constitution does not recognize a so-called ‘right to insult’, which clearly escapes the scope of constitutional protection. “.
The retired judge also alluded to the impact Belarra’s social media post had. “As can be seen in the publication, it reached six hundred and sixty-two thousand visits. In addition, it has more than 6,000 likes, 3,000 interactions and a thousand comments, among which we find a multitude of humiliations, insults and contempt towards Mr. Manuel García-Castellón,” he said. -he declared.
“His persecution continues after his retirement”
Ione Belarra did not retract her remarks in the face of the lawsuit filed by Manuel García-Castellón and continued her attacks against the retired magistrate. “García-Castellón did not want to retire and the dirty legal war against Podemos continues. There is a complaint against me for telling the truth, that what he did to protect the PP and persecute political adversaries of the right, It’s corruption, with or without conviction“, underlined the Podemos MP.
García-Castellón did not want to retire and the dirty legal war against Podemos continues. He is suing me for telling the truth, that what he did to protect the PP and persecute right-wing political opponents is corruption, with or without conviction.
– Ione Belarra (@ionebelarra) September 20, 2024
This Thursday, Ione Belarra once again attacked Manuel García-Castellón after learning that he had increased the compensation for the right to honor trial against the Purple Party deputy to 240,000 euros. He did so following the accusation of the state attorney general, Álvaro Garcia Ortizto reveal the tax data of Alberto Gonzalez Amadora few Isabel Diaz Ayusoas part of an investigation into alleged tax fraud involving the boyfriend of the president of the Community of Madrid.
“As part of the whole debate about the State Attorney General, this is another example of how Podemos discovered all the corrupt actions against us through the corrupt press. And their persecution continues after their retirement“, declared the leader of Podemos in a message posted on social networks.
