Valladolid
The Secretary of Organisation of the PSOE in Castilla y León, Ana Sánchez, has announced the opening of proceedings for the expulsion of Juan Luis Cepa as a member of the party in view of the “repugnant events” that they feel “indignant and hurt” about. This occurs one day after it was revealed that the Justice Department is investigating the now former PSOE attorney in Castilla y León for alleged sexual assault of a minor.
In this regard, Sánchez denies having known of the facts prior to the note issued by the High Court of Justice of Castilla y León yesterday: “Neither through the person under investigation nor through any judicial body, we had no knowledge of the fact that he was under investigation.”
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The secretary general of the PSOE in Castilla y León and spokesman in the Cortes of Castilla y León, Luis Tudanca, has expressed his “absolute dismay and indignation” at the alleged crime. On social media, Tudanca has maintained that “in the face of the denunciation of such repugnant events, absolute condemnation, support for the victim and a forceful response.” “I can’t think of anything worse. I sincerely hope it’s not true but there can’t be any lukewarmness. Until the last consequences,” he added.
Cepa has explained to some media outlets that on Friday she informed the provincial secretary of the PSOE in Salamanca, David Serrada, of this situation and that he asked her to resign, something that the secretary of Organisation says is “what he says”, although she has stated that the leader of the organisation in Salamanca “is told things that do not have official confirmation” such as that the now ex-prosecutor could be involved in a judicial investigation “without knowing what kind or what nature”.
He confirmed that Serrada had called Cepa to “remind him of the high level of ethical demands that the party has and to ask him to give explanations if he can.”
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Ana Sánchez, Secretary of Organization of the PSOE of Castilla y León, on the investigation of the former socialist attorney, Juan Luis Cepa, for alleged sexual assault of a minor
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The Secretary of Organisation, in response to questions from the media, believes that the regional leadership does not have to assume any kind of political responsibility beyond expelling the Salamanca native as a member: “That would be too much. It would also seem to me to be sowing suspicion and doubt about the 10,000 members and officials of the Party. I find the situation very repulsive. These are facts that are completely foreign to me.”
He also sent a message of “support and encouragement” to the victim and expressed his confidence in justice to clarify what happened.
The PP asks Tudanca for explanations
The regional secretary of the PP of Castilla y León, number two of the party, Francisco Vázquez, asks the PSOE and the general secretary, Luis Tudanca, for “immediate explanations” in the face of an “extremely serious fact” and wonders “if the PSOE of Castilla y León knew about it for a month and has hidden it.”
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Francisco Vázquez, number two of the PP of Castilla y León, on the resignation of the former socialist attorney, Juan Luis Cepa
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In addition, Vázquez insists that the PP of Castilla y León demands “transparency and urgent responses”, all after this year “another attorney had to resign due to an alleged case of gender-based violence.”
Other political parties represented in the Cortes of Castilla y León have also spoken out on this matter: José Ángel Ceña, spokesman for Soria Ya in the autonomous chamber, asks that the law be applied “to all its extremes” in the face of “a serious incident” and that “the court be allowed to work.”
Now, after his resignation, Cepa loses his status as a privileged person, which he had held since he became a prosecutor for Salamanca after the 2011 elections to the Cortes, and the case will be returned from the High Court of Justice of Castilla y León to the Court of Instruction of Ciudad Rodrigo, the court that opened the investigation.
