Court overturns ban on media outlets publishing Urdangarin’s private emails

A Barcelona judge has lifted a block imposed upon seven media outlets preventing them from publishing or commenting upon emails concerning the private life of Iñaki Urdangarin. In her ruling, the magistrate said that the Duke of Palma had not “sufficiently set out” his reasons for filing a complaint with the courts against the outlets.

The emails in question were submitted to the Palma authorities by Urdangarin’s former business partner, Diego Torres. Both men stand accused of siphoning off millions in public funds to private companies through the duke’s non-profit Nóos Institute. Urdangarin’s wife, Princess Cristina, has also been dragged into the case and was ordered to turn over her tax receipts to investigators.

The judicial ruling maintained its ban on Torres filtering further emails to the press. “Although he has testified that at the current time he has no emails and has no intention of publishing them, it is evident that he does have access to them,” the court said.

Some of the emails handed over to the judge investigating the Nóos case contained references to King Juan Carlos in connection with Urdangarin drumming up financial support to host sports and tourism events paid for by the Valencia and Balearics regional governments.

Urdangarin lodged an appeal against the diffusion of further emails on the basis his right to privacy had been breached. The original ruling said that the king’s son-in-law was a “citizen like any other, with the right to a private area of his life.”