The Disciplinary Commission of the General Council of the Judiciary (CGPJ) has imposed a fine of 1,500 euros for a serious infraction on the magistrate of the Criminal Court number 1 of Granada, Manuel Piñar, after he denounced through a statement sent to a media outlet data that concerned one of the children of Juana Rivas, the mother of Maracena (Granada), whom he convicted of child abduction.
In the resolution, consulted by Europa Press, it is considered proven that on December 9, 2021, the magistrate issued an order in which he rejected the suspension of sentence that Juana Rivas’ defense had requested after the pardon granted to her by the government, a decision that “has been criticized by some sectors.”
Following these criticisms, the magistrate sent a statement to a national newspaper to express his opinion on this procedure and explain the reasons which had led him to issue the aforementioned order, thus providing various information relating to the case.
The judge alleged that the details of the proceedings he disclosed in this statement were “known to the public because they were disseminated through the media,” but the CGPJ maintains that this does not allow it to disclose them and fulfill its “duty of confidentiality.” “It does not disappear because of prior knowledge of the facts” that could have been disseminated by other means.
The CGPJ Disciplinary Commission states that the magistrate was aware of certain circumstances affecting a minor because he was responsible for hearing the proceedings in which these data or facts were operating; and “despite this, he transmitted them to a media outlet in order to justify the meaning of a judicial decision”. It adds that “in no case” would his actions “benefit from protection of his right to freedom of expression”, as the magistrate stressed.
For all these reasons, the CGPJ considers that the submission of the note to the aforementioned newspaper constitutes the offence described in article 418.8, and it is also relevant that the statement “includes certain data that had not been published previously.”
Thus, Manuel Piñar, for his actions as a magistrate of the Criminal Court 1 of Granada, is fined 1,500 euros, “for having been considered the author disciplinary responsible for a serious violation of article 418.8 of the aforementioned organic law.”
Juana Rivas’ defense showed this Thursday its “satisfaction” that the Disciplinary Commission of the General Council of the Judiciary (CGPJ) finally imposed a sanction of 1,500 euros for a serious infraction on the magistrate of the Criminal Court number 1 of Granada, Manuel Piñar, for having disseminated data through a statement that concerned one of the children of Maracena’s mother.
Lawyer Carlos Aránguez considered, in a statement sent to the media, that the magistrate “revealed essential data” of the procedure that was followed against Juana Rivas and therefore welcomes this sanction. At the same time, he stressed that “Judge Piñar continues to be investigated in two criminal proceedings, currently still in the investigation phase, one for hate crime and the other for false testimony.”
