On November 27, Judge Leopoldo Puente issued the decision provisional prison without bail for José Luis Ábalos and his former advisor, Koldo Garcíadue to accusations of membership in a criminal organization, corruption, use of privileged information, influence peddling and embezzlement of public money. Thus, the magistrate opted for this option considering that the two defendants have funds and contacts not located abroad, which could present a risk of flight.
Thus, since then, the former Minister of Transport and his former advisor have shared a cell in Soto del Real prison, in Madrid, where they learned to live together and, until now, had chosen to remain silent in front of the media. However, this Wednesday, Mornings 360 published the interview that, exclusively, they had with José Luis Ábalos, the first granted by the politician since he was in prison and which, as the 24 hour channel explains, occurred “through a questionnaire sent to your lawyer“.
First of all, the former minister explained how he is in prison, what his routine is and how he makes the hours more pleasant: “I feel good, stronger than everI receive excellent treatment from all prison officials and inmates, who show me their support.
“I walk a lot, but above all, I read a lot. I read the biography of Fouché, The man in search of meaningby Viktor Frankl An honorable exitby Éric Vuillard The Fourth Reichby Bruno Cardeñosa, Prosperous windby Andrés Trapiello, Alejo Carpentier, Pérez Galdós… I have always been a avid reader of all types of literature“, revealed the politician.
Likewise, Ábalos highlighted the support he receives from others: “Every day I receive letters from other detained prisoners in all prisons in Spain. These are letters of support and they are appreciated.” As to whether he hopes to get out of prison before the trial, the former minister is clear: “It is my wish, I trust in justice and that’s how it will be.”
Regarding his relationship with Koldo García, José Luis Ábalos emphasized: “The relationship is good. Obviously we had to learn to live together in the very small space that is a cell and no one is used to it or used to it.
After explaining what he feels emotionally, the RTVE morning show then questioned the former minister on the crimes of which he is accused. Thus, the journalist pointed out that the UCO claims that the hydrocarbon conspiracy allocated one million euros to buy Ábalos’ will, to which he responded: “The UCO report does not say that, it says that 680,000 euros were allocated to the purchase of Casa Alcaidesa and that the rest went to Aldama. I paid rent, I paid three monthly payments until I was evicted. At no time does it say that I took a million euros“.
Likewise, the politician commented on whether he had considered the possibility of fleeing Spain, one of the reasons why the judge sent him to temporary prison without bail: “It’s completely absurd. I have all the possible roots and because I’m in Spain. I am a deputy and there is no precedent in the history of Spain for a deputy to be imprisoned. I am the father of a minor child with whom I must comply as a father, but also with the payment of support. “That doesn’t make any sense.”
Along the same lines, Ábalos commented on what he believes to be the reason for his entry into prison: “They want to eliminate a man and a politician. With my entry into prison, they are depriving the citizens who voted for me of representation in Congress. It is very serious and I am surprised by the haste with which The Congress Council has taken all steps to withdraw my status as a deputy. “I think they should have been more careful and at least waited for the resolution of my appeal against the prison measure.”
As for whether he has evidence demonstrating the possible illegal financing of the PSOE, Ábalos explained: “There was no illegal financing of the PSOE, at least when I was Secretary of the Organization.“In addition, he stressed that he does not have elements that could compromise Pedro Sánchez with regard to ‘criminal acts’ or ‘illegal activities.’
Regarding the audios that were allegedly part of the evidence against him and others involved and which were refuted by Santos Cerdán and his experts, the former minister said: “I don’t recognize my voice in the audios. This is what will be the subject of the trial.” This is why the RTVE journalist wanted to know if they would request the cancellation of this evidence, to which the politician responded affirmatively and further declared: “I have confidence in Justice, that the truth will be revealed, but, above all, that it will be demonstrated that everything This research is flawed and contaminated. from the beginning.”
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