Judge Francisco Martel, president of the Fourth Section of the Criminal Chamber of the National Court, spoke today, in broad daylight, of the delays suffered by the appointment of trials before the specialized court. “We are even ashamed,” said Martel when he was forced to suspend the trial, due to the illness of a lawyer, against commissioner José Manuel Villarejo and businessman Javier López Madrid, and considering that this postponement will mean that it will not take place. . probably until the second half of 2026.
“Evil for many, consolation for the imbeciles,” continued the judge, ensuring that other sections of the criminal court find themselves in a similar situation, with procedures blocked for lack of dates. The National Court is yet another judicial body which is experiencing immense delays which are still dragging on due to the crisis caused by the Covid-19 epidemic or the strike of justice secretaries last year. These problems add to the traditional slow functioning of justice.
This Monday should have started the trial of one of the dozens of documents under investigation against Commissioner Villarejo in the Tándem affair. On this occasion, the retired police officer, his partner Rafael Redondo and the businessman Javier López Madrid are sitting on the bench. The latter is accused of having hired the police officer to harass Dr. Elisa Pinto.
The victim’s lawyer presented a work stoppage on Friday but crossed out information she considered confidential about her ailments. As a result, the court issued an order excluding the postponement. This morning, the lawyer presented a second impeccable and updated medical report and, once in the courtroom, the court decided to postpone the trial.
The defenses of Villarejo and Redondo did not object, but the lawyer of Javier López Madrid opposed the suspension because he considers that there is not sufficient motivation. It turns out that another trial with the same protagonists before the Provincial Court of Madrid was recently suspended, with the businessman’s lawyer reporting a state of anxiety, which did not involve work stoppage, and which would force him to reduce his workload according to medical indications. prescription.
Hiring Villarejo
In this trial, which was suspended in the Provincial Court, the alleged harassment itself and the attack that Pinto allegedly suffered from Villarejo were going to be judged. The investigation into this case was delayed for more than a decade. The date that had been set was October 2025, but the commissioner’s lawyer scheduled another hearing on those dates, so, if it is not further delayed, the trial will take place in February 2026.
In the case of the trial suspended this Monday at the National Court, only the hiring of an active public official (Villarejo) by an individual (López Madrid) was going to be judged without the consequences of the alleged harassment and aggression being assessed. suffered by Dr. Pinto. With the suspension, it is likely that the original order will be issued and that the more onerous trial, that of the Provincial Court, will be held before that of the National Court.
Pinto’s lawyer appeared in court despite his withdrawal, saying the court rejected the postponement. In her intervention, she reported tremors and discomfort and, behind a pair of sunglasses, she added that she was requesting the suspension of the entire procedure, not just the suspension of her vision. “For now we are resolving what we have on the table, if it is about other approaches or other stories, it already looks like delays and strange things,” replied the president of the court.
