The Minister of the Interior, Fernando Grande-Marlaska, has sent a letter to the president of the General Council of the Judiciary (CGPJ), Isabel Perelló, to complain that Judge María Tardón prohibited the investigating agents from sharing the police report on Ceuta. The minister maintains that the seriousness of the situation required sharing this key information with "superiors and political leaders." Perelló has agreed with Marlaska in his assessment of the "seriousness" of the situation, but defends the actions of Judge María Tardón.
The instructor of the National Court ordered the preparation of this police report in order to decide whether it is up to this court to investigate the massive entry of immigrants into the autonomous city, which took place on July 30 and 31. Initially, Tardón prohibited agents from the National Center for Immigration and Borders (CENIF) from sharing the information collected. The unit delivered the report on Monday, and on Tuesday night its conclusions were leaked in El Español. The police document, accessed by 20minutos, confirms the involvement of Moroccan police authorities in what happened on the border with Ceuta.
Marlaska reacted immediately after learning the content of the report. In the early hours of Wednesday, he sent a letter to the director general of the National Police to ask for explanations. He wanted to know if the information was true and, if so, why it had not been made available to the Ministry of the Interior and the National Security Council.
That same day, instructor María Tardón gave the go-ahead for CENIF to share the report in question with its superiors. This has not prevented the Minister of the Interior from addressing the president of the CGPJ to show his "concern" about the initial veto imposed by Judge Tardón.
Firstly, the minister shows his respect for judicial independence, "as Minister of the Interior and also as a magistrate." It also shows its support for the "dependence of the judicial police exclusively on the judges and courts and the Public Prosecutor's Office in the performance of their functions."
However, he points out that in a situation like the present one, these principles should not be incompatible "with informing superiors and political leaders of any circumstances that may be relevant to decision-making in the management of a crisis of such magnitude."
For this reason, Grande-Marlaska concludes, it must be compatible that the judicial police "inform the judicial bodies, for the exercise of their constitutional function, while providing the Government and its members, also for the exercise of their constitutional function, with all information that is relevant for making the most appropriate decisions in defense of the general interest and, in this case, public security and national security."
The first thing that Perelló highlights in his response is that the General Council of the Judiciary is prohibited from "approving, censoring or correcting judicial actions." Then remember that the Judicial Police has the duty to collaborate with the judicial bodies.
