Former Socialist Minister José Luis Abalos and his advisor Koldo García are in Madrid Correctional Center V, located in the town of Soto del Real, although Supreme Court Judge Leopoldo Puente deemed there to be an “increased” risk of escape as the court approaches closure and he will face long-term prison pleas.
After his arrival at the cage on July 18, 2018, on board a Civil Guard vehicle, the prison administration activated the protocol applicable to his arrival to all inmates, the details of which appear in Article 20 of the prison regulations. This specifies that the first hours of both in prison are spent in a cell called the admission unit, a space specifically designated for people who have just entered the prison and where they can stay for a maximum of five days unless “for reasons of health or to maintain their security” it is decided to extend the period. In this case, the prison must inform the prison probation judge. There are currently about 1,300 prisoners in this 30-year-old prison that occupies an area of 65 hectares near the Madrid mountain range.
Unit proposal
While in the Income Unit, Abalos and Koldo García will undergo the usual procedures, which include the taking of their documents and the registration of their property – both matters for which they will be attended by the Supreme Court in small equipment with clothes -. Of these, those that are forbidden to be rented in prison, such as mobile phones if they are transported, are deleted. There will also be deliveries of hygiene products, bed linen and clothing. Then, “as soon as possible” according to the prison system, they will be examined by the center’s doctor. They will also be interviewed by a psychologist, jurist, social worker and educator “in order to uncover areas of need and internal needs” according to the standard.
These prison professionals will be responsible for issuing a report with the proposal as to which unit within the prison they should be admitted to, or, even better if they should be transferred to another centre, which is very unlikely in this case, if prison sources are consulted. Given the characteristics of Abalos and Cerdán and the crimes of the accused – Fiscalía Anticorrupción les attributes to criminal organization, coco, use of confidential information, trafficking in influence, and malpractice -, it is expected that they will initially be detained in a unit of what is considered a little discordant in prison.
Among these are those who occupy what are called basic prisoners, and they are those who are entering prison for the first time. No. 10, intended for prisoners who are well adapted to the prison system and do not cause problems (on this day former CEO Gerardo Díaz Ferran was admitted) or who are studying university studies through UNED; No. 12, which is known as “Respect”, aims to house guests with good behavior who accept to abide by the rules of coexistence. In the latest case, for example, independence leaders Jordi Sánchez and Jordi Cuixart were arrested before being transferred to a prison in Catalonia.
The Prison Regulation states that through this report, the Prison Center Treatment Board – the collective body of the prison that in addition to the technical team will form part of the Director and Deputy Director of Treatment, among others – “will evaluate aspects such as the labor occupation, cultural and vocational training or assistance measures, in order to develop an individual model of intervention” for each of them.
The Soto del Real prison is a celebrity prison with many public figures who have passed through its cells, each of which is approximately 10 square metres. In addition to Díaz Ferran, Sanchez and Cuixart, the former PP Luis Bárcenas was located within its walls, and others condemned before him Guertel case As former alcalde of Majadahonda Guillermo Ortega and former high office of the Community of Madrid Alberto López Viejo; Former president of Caja Madrid Miguel Belesa and a series of those he condemned black cards, Among them were Deputy Prime Minister Rodrigo Rato; And the former secretary of the Socialist Workers’ Party, Santos Cerdán, who was released on temporary release last November 19 after five months in temporary prison.