Fernández Díaz defense seeks acquittal in Operación Kitchen trial

The defense of former Interior Minister Jorge Fernández Díaz has called for his acquittal in the 'Operación Kitchen' trial, arguing that he had no interest in Luis Bárcenas' documents and that key evidence against him was manipulated.

The lawyer Jesús Mandri told the Audiencia Nacional that Fernández Díaz 'never had any interest' in Bárcenas' papers, since he was not a beneficiary of the alleged PP slush fund Source: infobae. The defense characterized the operation as a legal intelligence effort to locate hidden funds, not a 'parapolice' operation Source: abc.es.

Mandri specifically attacked messages from his former number two, Francisco Martínez, which had been notarized and used to implicate Fernández Díaz. He called them 'inverosímiles' and suggested they were manipulated, noting that the messages did not appear in the ex-minister's phone Source: elconfidencial. In contrast, the prosecution maintains that Kitchen was an illegal operation to steal documents and obstruct justice, seeking 15 years for Fernández Díaz Source: lavanguardia.