Court deliberates ex-Balearic chief's fate
Jaume Matas alleged to have paid journalist for favorable articles
Testimony in the fraud trial against former Balearic premier Jaume Matas and a former El Mundo columnist concluded on Thursday, leaving a Palma de Mallorca judge to deliberate a verdict. Three former Balearic officials and a publicity agent are also facing similar charges in the trial.
Matas, a former Popular Party (PP) official, didn't use his right to address the court after the final arguments. He is accused of giving 480,000 euros between 2003 and 2007 to former newspaper columnist Antonio Alemany to write his speeches, as well as articles in El Mundo praising his administration. Anti-corruption prosecutors are asking eight-and-a-half years for Matas and seven years for Alemany.
Matas' lawyer Antonio Alberca said that Matas shouldn't be sent to prison for an administrative issue.
Javier Rodríguez, Alemany's lawyer, argued that the speeches he wrote for Matas "were in the public's interest."
For his part, Alemany accused the prosecutors of continuously "insulting us as if we were common criminals."
The trial lasted 10 days.
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