The trial of David Sanchez, Pedro Sanchez’s brother, was postponed for more than three months. The Badajoz Regional Court announced that it will postpone until May 28, 2026 the start of the oral hearing against the relative of the Prime Minister, which was scheduled to begin on February 9. Through a document dated Wednesday, seen by El Pais, the court justified the change because several lawyers requested comment because this trial coincided with other “previously mentioned” proceedings.
David Sanchez; Leader of the Extremaduran party PSOE, Miguel Ángel Gallardo; Another 10 people will sit on the bench due to alleged irregularities in the appointment of the first to the Badajoz Provincial Council. The popular accusation, led by the pseudo-union “Clean Hands”, demands three years in prison for the CEO’s brother and Gallardo on charges of influence peddling in a media competition with another of evasion and illegal appointment. For their part, the prosecution and defense are demanding acquittal.
Initially, the Badajoz Regional Court planned to hold the trial from 9 to 14 February 2026. However, after receiving the change request, the court agreed that it should now begin on 28 May; It continues on May 29 and June 1, 2, 3 and 4.
The hearing will begin more than five months after the elections in Extremadura, where Gallardo is running as a candidate for the Socialist Workers Party. Legal sources have already indicated that his prospective appointment as regional prosecutor could reopen the debate on whether he, as an accredited person, should be tried before a different court from the rest of the accused. The Extremadura High Court of Justice had already rejected this option last June, when it concluded that the socialist had committed a “fraud against the law” by maneuvering in a “hasty and zigzag” way – a few days before the judge decided to send him to trial – to give up his position as president of the Badajoz provincial council and join the autonomous assembly as a member of parliament. But Gallardo will now enter the chamber after the election.