The Supreme Court upheld sentences of 22 to 20 years in prison for the four men who killed councilor Javier Ardines in Llanes.

The Supreme Court dismisses the appeals filed by the four convicted persons against the sentence of the TSJ of Asturias, which in turn upholds the appeal by the Oviedo State Court jury. The confirmed penalties are 22 years imprisonment for the instigator and two material perpetrators of the crime and 20 years for the intermediary.

The decision was transmitted by the Supreme Court to the Asturias Supreme Court of Justice and the Oviedo State Court this Thursday and served on the parties. The full sentence, along with its legal basis, will be announced in the coming days. It shall state the reasons for the rejection of the objections.

The Criminal Chamber of the Supreme Court of Appeals advanced its decision as it is scheduled to meet for 22 days the next day to discuss and decide on the appeals of the four people convicted of the murder of the IU member of parliament. plains Javier ArdinesOn the morning of August 16, 2018. The Second Chamber of the Provincial Court decided on the detention of three of the convicts: Pedro Luis Nieva, Djilali Benatia And Jesus MuguruzaFour years after they went to prison in February 2019. In the case of these defendants, the law establishes that although there is no final sentence and they have served four years in preventive detention, their prison sentences can be extended by up to half. sentence. prison room, Maamar Keliiadvocated by Fernando BarutellArrested more than a year after being extradited by Switzerland. Those involved were sentenced to 22 years (Nieva, Benatia and Kelii) and 20 years’ imprisonment (Muguruza).

retrial

The Supreme Court ruled on many issues contrary to the demands of the defenses. First, the defenses were of the view that the trial should be set aside and repeated, as the jury had access to Jesús Muguruza’s testimony before the Civil Guard, although it had been overturned by the Civil and Criminal Division of the Supreme Court. Justice of Asturias because despite accusing himself and other people involved in the incident, he was not informed of his rights. However, TSJA stated that the annulment of the declaration did not invalidate the subsequent proceedings, considering that the investigators could reach the same conclusions in other ways.

The sources also cited wiretaps of those involved, which, according to the defenses, were prospective and were not justified or controlled by the judiciary. The pressure that would lead Djilali Benatia to confess the truth that he allegedly suffered and which he later retrieved in court was brought to the fore, while the isolation of the first three people involved in the incident was also challenged.

The sentence of Part Two finds that Algerians Benatia and Kelii killed Ardines at the request of Pedro Luis Nieva, who was married to the cousin of the councillor’s wife. Ardines and Nieva’s wife were in a relationship for thirty years. Muguruza helped Nieva connect with Algerian hitmen. And approved by the Almighty.