Key facts
- Begoña Gómez, wife of Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, will face a jury trial.
- The charges include influence peddling and embezzlement.
- A Madrid court upheld the most serious charges against Gómez.
- A charge of corruption in business was dropped.
- Orders for Gómez to report to court and surrender her passport were lifted.
Begoña Gómez, the wife of Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, will stand trial before a citizen jury on charges of influence peddling and embezzlement, a Madrid court ruled on Thursday. The ruling comes as a setback for the government, which has been embroiled in graft investigations.
Gómez's defense team had appealed to the Madrid High Court to drop the charges, which were based on a complaint by far-right groups accusing her of using her position to secure work contracts. The court dismissed a third charge of corruption in business and lifted previous orders requiring her to report to court regularly and surrender her passport, as well as barring her from leaving the country.
Prime Minister Sanchez has publicly defended his wife, asserting that the case is politically motivated and driven by his opponents. His office released a statement on Thursday declaring Gómez innocent and describing the case as politically motivated, stemming from a false allegation and based on fake news.
Earlier this week, Sanchez's brother was convicted of administrative misconduct and barred from public office for nine years. The current ruling confirms Gómez will face a jury, a procedure in Spain typically reserved for specific offenses like influence peddling. Data from the judiciary's governing body shows a high conviction rate for jury trials in Spain, around 90% over the past decade.