The State Attorney General, Teresa Peramato, raised her voice today before King Felipe VI to denounce the “systematic disqualification” suffered by the Prosecutor’s Office and its prosecutors for doing their job. Her speech comes at a tense moment between the judiciary and certain political leaders due to the disqualifications of certain members of the judiciary.
Read more Deans of science faculties in Catalonia urge a major pact to halt educational deterioration
In media matters, the stance of the Prosecutor’s Office has been especially criticized for not accusing Begoña Gómez, wife of the Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez, in the case promoted by Judge Juan Carlos Peinado or for requesting the free acquittal of his brother, David Sánchez, who was finally sentenced to nine years of disqualification.
In her speech, Peramato omitted mention of her predecessor Álvaro García Ortiz, convicted by the Supreme Court for a crime of revealing official data that caused his resignation and her appointment.
Precisely last year’s speech at the opening of the judicial year was still given by García Ortiz, who was already indicted and awaiting trial. He was finally sentenced to two years of disqualification from being attorney general in November 2025 for leaking confidential data of the partner of the president of Madrid, Isabel Díaz Ayuso.
Last year’s tension at the judicial year opening event caused the unusual applause for the president of the Supreme Court and the General Council of the Judiciary (CGPJ), which has led to a communication in the plenary room before today’s speeches began asking those present to avoid applauding during the speeches out of respect for the event.
Peramato, who made a special mention of prosecutors in Ceuta, explained that the Prosecutor’s Office accepts the demand for transparency and legitimate criticism, but this cannot be confused with “systematic disqualification, nor with projecting onto the institution an image that does not correspond to reality.”
“At times, the procedural actions of prosecutors are presented through simplifications incompatible with the legal complexity of the matters in which we intervene; specific procedural decisions are harshly questioned without considering the legal grounds that support them; spurious motivations are gratuitously attributed where only a legal assessment exists,” she warns.
Read more Israel accuses the Government of using it as a «smokescreen» amid the Ceuta crisis
The highest official of the Prosecutor’s Office criticizes that in public criticisms “a distinction is made between good and bad prosecutors depending on whether the procedural position they adopt suits some or others, forgetting that we all belong to a single institution that acts impartially in proceedings, subject exclusively to the Law.”
Her words were spoken before the King, the Minister of Justice, Félix Bolaños, and the president of the PP, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, who this year did attend after refusing to attend last year due to García Ortiz’s presence.
Therefore, Peramato wanted to clarify that the actions “of all of them” are governed by the principles of “legality and impartiality” and their decisions are subject to the final judgment of the courts. “Their opinions and procedural writings are based solely on legal criteria. And their daily work takes place, to a great extent, away from the media spotlight,” she adds.
Thus, she defended that Spanish prosecutors perform their work under conditions of “enormous professional demand,” bearing increasing workloads and handling matters of extraordinary complexity. “And they do so with discretion, rigor, and total and absolute loyalty to the constitutional values that underpin our democratic coexistence.”
“Corruption erodes trust in institutions”
On the other hand, Peramato emphasized the role of the Prosecutor’s Office in the fight against corruption, “a phenomenon that erodes citizens’ trust in institutions, distorts the proper functioning of public powers, and compromises the principles of integrity and service to the general interest that must govern all public action.”
She indicated that this type of investigation demands from the Prosecutor’s Office “the utmost rigor, independence, and determination, particularly when it affects authorities or officials who take advantage of the responsibilities inherent to their position.” Therefore, she stressed that the fight against corruption is one of the strategic priorities of the Spanish Prosecutor’s Office.
Read more The Mossos finalize a report on Jonathan Andic’s lightning trip to Ecuador
