The arrest on Tuesday morning of Spanish Constitutional Court judge Fernando Valdés at his home in Majadahonda, near Madrid, for alleged gender-based violence after an argument, with his wife as the alleged victim, is disturbing news. That the public prosecutors have not presented any charge nor requested any precautionary measures and that the judge of the court of first instance in the case has released him due to his advanced age of 75 years is surprising news. And that the Constitutional Court has come out with a press release appealing to the presumption of innocence “while the judicial proceedings continue” is news that comes across like a corporate communiqué on this sensitive issue of gender violence.
Judge Valdés, a member of the Constitutional Court who was proposed by the Socialist party, has immunity from lower-court prosecution due to his position on the court. This is not a minor issue as his arrest could only have been carried out by the Civil Guard, according to current legislation, if a flagrant crime was taking place. Throughout the day yesterday there was a great deal of obfuscation about the case, partly understandable due to the terrible harm it poses to a Constitutional Court already questioned in many of its decisions.
The fact that it coincides in time with the flight of the king emeritus Juan Carlos I to an as-yet unconfirmed destination, presumably now New Zealand, due to the seriousness of corruption cases that have come to light, does enormous harm to Brand Spain, with no end to the arrival of further disturbing news stories that aggravate its discredit.
The Constitutional Court's appeals to the presumption of innocence of the judge involved in this matter would be stronger if the institution had the prestige which it lacks. Above all, because the court itself has, in the opinion of many legal experts, trampled on fundamental rights in recent times and appeals to the presumption of innocence are precisely the element that has been missing when the issue was not centred on one of the court's own.