Alex Trelinski
A Denia judge has junked bribery and corruption charges against a Costa Blanca mayoral couple who got an early Covid-19 vaccination in January 2021.
Els Poblets mayor, Carolina Vives, and partner, Ximo Coll, who resigned as El Verger mayor last month, have been told that the legal matter is closed.
Prosecutors said there was no evidence to proceed with the case that accused Vives and Coll of using their status to get vaccinated, contrary to national rules.
The couple testified in court last November.
Coll and Vives received their first vaccine shots in El Verger’s medical centre on January 8, 2021.
Coll got a phone call telling him about a surplus of vaccines which would go to waste if they were not used.
He and Vives went to the centre along with some police officers to get the unexpected injections.
Strict protocols were in place prioritising elderly and vulnerable people for the first Covid-19 vaccine shots, along with essential workers.
The couple were suspended from membership of the PSOE socialist party but survived ‘no confidence’ votes in their councils.
Ximo Coll quit as El Verger mayor last month after losing the support of his fellow PSOE councillors.
He said he resigned to ‘guarantee governance’ with local coalition partners Compromis threatening to pull out if he stayed in post.
La Nucia’s Partido Popular mayor, Bernabe Cano, who got an early Covid vaccine shot at a residential home, is still set to face trial for allegedly abusing his position of power.
Cano’s lawyer argued in a preliminary hearing that his client only went to the home after being invited by family members of residents and had no intention of being vaccinated.
READ MORE:
- Queue-jumping Costa Blanca mayor quits, 14 months after getting unauthorised Covid jab in Spain
- Costa Blanca mayor faces COVID-19 vaccine queue-jumping trial after judge in Spain throws out appeal
