Overview
- The tribunal has replayed recorded confessions by former UCAO chief Enrique García Castaño, which were first heard on Tuesday, and he remains absent from the trial because of a serious illness that prevents in‑person confrontation.
- Judges began playing intercepted audios from ex‑comisario José Manuel Villarejo, and they ordered that the recordings be heard only by those in the courtroom to avoid wider public diffusion of sensitive data.
- A court expert testified that the messages included in two notarised exhibits show notable irregularities and a high probability of manipulation, undermining their reliability as direct proof against former minister Jorge Fernández Díaz.
- Defence teams have repeatedly sought to annul or require full replay of García Castaño’s instrucción statements to attack his changing versions and to raise chain‑of‑custody and conflict‑of‑representation arguments.
- The evidence under scrutiny ties to long‑running Gürtel and 'caja b' inquiries and the trial’s handling of audio authenticity and admissibility will shape possible criminal outcomes and political fallout for the Partido Popular.