José Manuel Villarejo, the former commissioner of the National Police sentenced to prison for various causes related to espionage, will present his book The State against mein it Granada Bar Association. An appointment that has not gone down well internally since, as elDiario.es Andalucía has learned, several members have expressed their discomfort at the fact that the institution offers a space to someone who has convictions and open cases for serious crimes. The College defends itself by saying that it is a plural space.
The appointment will be next December 19 at the school’s headquarters in Granada capital. The institution has promoted the meeting with the former commissioner, related to corruption plots that affect senior political officials and businessmen in Spain, despite the fact that the National Court has sentenced him to 19 years in prison for revealing secrets and falsifying documents, in which framework of a macrocause known as Operation Tandem.
Just a month ago, the National Court concluded that former commissioner Villarejo used his influence in the police environment to carry out private orders and obtain personal benefits. Specifically, he has been convicted of bribery due to his relationship with businessmen and his involvement in obtaining contracts in exchange for favors. The ruling highlights the use of his position to carry out private work, a practice that has generated controversy given the nature of the charges against him. The ruling also points out the connection between Villarejo and the companies that paid for his services, which puts into focus the extent to which his activities reached within the police and business sphere.
Some collegiate lawyers, who for fear of reprisals have preferred to remain anonymous, have already expressed their discomfort at the institution’s decision to cede its facilities to the former commissioner, understanding that it places the association “at the service of conspiracy theories and of a criminal.” They also do not share that the book will be presented by Villarejo together with another lawyer and with the presence of the dean, Leandro Cabrera.
“There is astonishment and stupefaction on the part of the colleagues,” point out lawyers consulted by this medium. Despite this, no official complaint has been made to the management of the Granada Bar Association, but comments and arguments have been made against the presence of Villarejo to present a book that talks about conspiracy theories about 11M or on 23F.
An “open and plural” institution
In this regard, the school management defends itself against the protests by claiming that the School is an open space. “The governing board points out that the corporation is an open, plural and democratic institution and that it aims to serve as a forum for debate, reflection and exchange of opinions because we consider that access to different points of view, always with the utmost respect and education, “It can only enrich the group and society.”
“Likewise, with the same objective of promoting knowledge, the College gives its facilities to activities of different kinds. In this sense, it is common for the headquarters to be the setting for literary presentations. In the last year alone, five book presentations have been held, with topics as diverse as the life of Pepe Macanás or the Ordinances of the Royal Chancery. What’s more, last September it was presented The plotby Ignacio Stampa, precisely one of the prosecutors who investigated Villarejo,” he concludes.
While the institution defends that it should remain a neutral space for the plurality of ideas, others consider that hosting controversial figures like Villarejo can erode its image and generate distrust among citizens in lawyers. A dilemma that, in any case, will not be diluted since the College will continue with the presentation of the former commissioner’s book on December 19.
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