2023-10-31 13:45:28
The Chamber of Accusations of the city of Córdoba, the highest appeal body of the Justice of Córdoba, confirmed the “inadmissibility” of the appointment of the criminal lawyer Justiniano Martínez as co-defender of the former provincial Secretary of Health, Pablo Carvajal, and in this way left firm the in charge of the entire investigation to prosecutor Raúl Garzón.
The Chamber ratified the criteria that the control judge had already established in the first instance of appeal Juan Manuel Fernández López, who had already confirmed Raúl Garzón at the forefront of the entire cause of infant deaths and functional responsibilities at the Maternal and Neonatal Hospital.
Carvajal is accused along with former Health Minister Diego Cardozo of aggravated concealment. Garzón had rejected Martínez’s appointment because he considered it to be a maneuver to seek his removal since he maintained a friendship with the lawyer.
Garzón denied it and Carvajal insisted before the Control Court. In his resolution, Fernández López said that Garzón “outlined reasonable and sufficient reasons that, therefore, justify the current restriction. The appointment of Dr. Martínez in the current state of the process (preparatory criminal investigation on the way to its final conclusion) would mean a serious delay in the processing and completion of the case, an inconvenience that would generate intolerable harm for those who wait for a prompt resolution of the process. ”.
The cost that changing the prosecutor would entail for the investigation was also the main argument that the Chamber of Accusations considered to tip the balance in favor of Garzón’s continuity, rather than giving effect to the right of every accused to choose the best professional for exercise your technical defense. Between one right and the other, the chambermaids opted for the one that generated the least damage to the public interest.
For this, they followed the reasoning that had already been outlined by Fernández López, who understood that the damage that the removal of the investigating prosecutor would cause to the investigation is more important at this stage than guaranteeing the free choice of the defense lawyer, the other value in conflict. “In effect, the granting of such a claim at this point would entail the departure of the investigating prosecutor – as he himself has maintained in the previous decisions –, a singularity that is not left to the favorable defensive expression of the opponent regarding his continuity, but rather It is linked to the position assumed by the aforementioned official, who invokes a relationship of intimate friendship as a negative condition for defensive intervention. Let it be understood well, specifically analyzing the issue, that is, whether the aforementioned relationship exists or subsists to date between the parties involved and, where appropriate, whether it has the degree of intimacy that would justify the eventual exclusion of the official, is superfluous.” , the judge stated.
Silence of former officials
As the former provincial Minister of Health, Diego Cardozo, and the former director of the Maternal Neonatal Hospital, Liliana Asís, among other former officials accused of aggravated cover-up, had already done, in the last round of investigations they denied the facts and the former director of Legal of the Ministry of Health, Alejando Gauto; and the former head of Neonatology at the hospital, Martha Gómez Flores. In all cases, the former officials charged with functional responsibilities chose to remain silent.
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