Judge orders police to exclude personal data in Zapatero probe

The judge investigating former Spanish Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero in the 'Plus Ultra' case has ordered the police's financial crime unit (UDEF) to avoid including unnecessary personal data in their reports. Judge José Luis Calama of the Audiencia Nacional issued the order after Zapatero's defense complained that full agendas and WhatsApp messages had been leaked to the press.

Background

Zapatero is being investigated for alleged mediation with Bolivia's government on behalf of a Peruvian company. On June 22, a UDEF report annex included his complete 2024-2025 agendas and private communications. The defense argued this constituted a "prospective and unauthorized investigation" and exposed intimate details. Source: abc.es

Judge's response

Calama agreed to limit future annexes to strictly relevant information, excluding "unnecessary or irrelevant" material and personal data unrelated to the case. Source: infobae However, he noted that full device dumps will still be submitted to the court, which will handle processing with appropriate guarantees. Source: elconfidencial

Security measures

The judge has requested a technical report from the Subdirección General de Impulso e Innovación de los Servicios Digitales on enhancing protection for documents stored in the cloud to prevent unauthorized dissemination. Source: infobae He previously opened a separate investigation into the leaks and created a "sensitive information" piece for audiovisual recordings. Source: abc.es The defense's request to have the original report removed from the case file remains pending. Source: elconfidencial