100,000 Euro bail granted for the Mayor and town planning councillor of Alhaurín el Grande
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By h.b. - Jan 21, 2007 - 3:12 PM
Both men are charged with fraud and perversion of the course of justice

Instruction court number 2 in Coín, on Friday granted bail of 100,000 € for the Mayor of Alhaurín el Grande, Juan Martín Serón, and the municipality’s town planning councillor, Gregorio Guerra.

Both the men were charged with fraud and perversion of the course of justice, and reporting restrictions were imposed on the case.

Speaking outside the court to some 200 local residents and journalists, Juan Martín Serón said that ‘These are the things that happen in Zapatero’s banana republic, the honourable people in jail and ETA in the street’.

Government Delegate in Andalucía, Juan José López Garzón, has fiercely attacked that comment from the Mayor - ‘The use of terrorism and its victims has been absolutely immoral’, he said.
The two men were arrested at 7,30pm on Thursday night at a cafeteria in Marbella, after attending a Partido Popular conference in the town, which was also attended by party leader Mariano Rajoy.

The Provincial PP deputy, Leonor Garcia-Agua, has described the circumstances of the arrests as a ‘circus’.

The Deputy Mayor of Alhauín el Grande, Antonia Ledesma , has said that the arrest of the Mayor was a political persecution against the PP.

El Pais reported on Sunday that the judge in the case, Isabel María Pérez, has been given details of how the two men were involved in demanding 100,000 € from a real estate promoter in order to obtain a licence to build. It seems that this money was added to municipal funds, and was not taken personally by the two accused.

Police investigations have apparently been taking place over the last three months, and we understand that both the men’s phone lines have been bugged by the UDYCO specialist police unit.

The defence team say they will present a legal challenge against how the bail was fixed in the case, in Instruction Court 2 in Coín on Monday. Other possible legal challenges are reported to be considered by the Partido Popular lawyers.

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