Overview
- After a brief oral hearing at the Audiencia Provincial de Madrid, the judges reserved their ruling as prosecutors urged acquittal and the private accuser Abogados Cristianos pressed for a one-year prison term, a fine, and a work ban in education.
- Echenique told the court his 2024 tweet was an ironic counter to remarks by the Archbishop of Oviedo who had linked migrants to crime, and he said he did not seek to brand all priests as offenders.
- The presiding judge curtailed some defense witnesses, blocking a second reporter after cutting short the first, in a tense exchange with the defense lawyer.
- Spain’s Ombudsman, Ángel Gabilondo, testified about his office’s report on abuse in the Catholic Church and said the study does not make the kind of comparisons cited in the tweet.
- The prosecution had earlier asked to shelve the case, yet it moved forward under Article 510 on provocation to hatred after the court found sufficient indicia, in a dispute covered by EL PAÍS as a free-speech clash and by La Razón with focus on potential harm to priests.