Spain’s Supreme Court Sets 22 July Hearing on Santos Cerdán Detention

Spain’s Supreme Court has scheduled a closed-door hearing on 22 July to examine the appeal filed by former Socialist Party organisational secretary Santos Cerdán against his pre-trial detention. The three-judge appeals panel—Antonio del Moral, Juan Ramón Berdugo and Pablo Llarena, who will draft the ruling—will hear arguments from Cerdán’s defence team, the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office and popular accusations led by the opposition People’s Party. Cerdán was remanded to Soto del Real prison on 30 January by investigating judge Leopoldo Puente, who cited a risk of evidence destruction in an alleged commission-for-contracts scheme involving public works. Prosecutors say Cerdán, together with former transport minister José Luis Ábalos, ex-adviser Koldo García and businessman Víctor de Aldama, formed a criminal organisation that solicited and collected illicit payments from favored construction companies. The defence maintains there are insufficient grounds for detention and claims the case amounts to a politically motivated “causa general.” Anti-Corruption chief prosecutor Alejandro Luzón counters that a sizeable, still-hidden “botín” and unidentified accomplices make Cerdán’s continued custody necessary to protect the investigation. Cerdán is the only suspect currently jailed in the so-called Koldo case. The Supreme Court’s forthcoming decision will determine whether he remains in provisional custody while the corruption probe advances.