Overview
- A provincial court in Badajoz found that posts were created 'a medida' to benefit David Sánchez and convicted him of administrative prevarication, imposing nine years of inhabilitación from public office.
- The judgment imposes only disqualification and no prison term, and it does not require repayment of salaries or civil liability for Sánchez.
- The government and the PSOE immediately framed the ruling as part of a pattern of judicial targeting and warned it could presage further cases involving the prime minister’s circle.
- David Sánchez’s lawyer rejected the government’s 'lawfare' label but confirmed he will file appeals to higher courts, so the conviction stands for now only at first instance.
- The same court also sentenced Miguel Ángel Gallardo to nine years of disqualification in the case, and remaining charges against other defendants were partly acquitted or found prescribed, with higher courts now set to review the verdicts.