Overview
- A Madrid civil court on Friday, June 12, 2026, found Podemos leader Ione Belarra's 2024 posts on X injurious and ordered her to pay €9,000 to retired judge Manuel García-Castellón.
- The judge's suit had initially been filed at the Supreme Court but was sent to the Madrid court after the Supreme Court said the tweets were not made in the exercise of Belarra's parliamentary office.
- The ruling said Belarra's messages imputed the crime of prevaricación without factual basis and described the statements as objectively injurious while noting the Public Prosecutor supported the claim.
- The court also ordered Belarra to publish the text of the judgment on her X profile or a similar medium where the original statements appeared.
- The case highlights wider tensions between political leaders and the judiciary and could influence how Spanish courts balance freedom of expression for politicians with judges' right to honor.