|
Sanchez will be interviewed by investigating judge Juan Carlos
Peinado at his official resident, the Moncloa palace, on July
30, the court said.
The proceedings are part of a preliminary investigation into
whether Sanchez's wife Begona Gomez used her position as the
premier's wife to secure sponsors for a university master's
degree course that she ran.
Peinado said Sanchez's testimony would be "convenient, useful
and relevant" for the investigation to establish whether there
was influence peddling.
Gomez appeared before the judge on Friday but declined to answer
questions.
She has not commented publicly on the case, but Sanchez has
vehemently denied the accusations against her, saying they were
baseless and orchestrated by right-wing political foes.
In April, the Socialist leader took a five-day break from his
duties to weigh whether to resign after the court opened the
investigation, but ultimately he decided to stay on.
It is the first time a sitting Spanish prime minister has been
called to testify in a judicial case since Mariano Rajoy was
summoned as a witness in 2017 in a graft case that led to the
conviction of several members of his conservative People's
Party.
(Reporting by Emma Pinedo, editing by Inti Landauro and Charlie
Devereux)
[© 2024 Thomson Reuters. All
rights reserved.]
Copyright 2022 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may
not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content.
|
|
