SPAIN’S Attorney General has been convicted of leaking confidential information about the partner of a major political rival.
Alvaro Garcia Ortiz has been banned from his position for two years by the Supreme Court.
The verdict is a blow to Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, who defended GarcÃa Ortiz during the months long probe and trial.
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“Disagreement with this ruling should not lead to widespread mistrust of institutions,” said Sanchez.
Justice Minister, Felix Bolaños, said the process to nominate a replacement would start in the coming days.
GarcÃa Ortiz was accused of having leaked an email to journalists and written a press release with personal information about Alberto Gonzalez Amador, when the businessman was under investigation for alleged tax fraud.
The tax inquiry is still active.
Gonzalez Amador is the boyfriend of the Madrid regional president, Isabel DÃaz Ayuso, who is one of the key figures in the conservative opposition Partido Popular(PP).
Garcia Ortiz denied accusations that he shared with the media the contents of an email exchange between prosecutors and Gonzalez Amador’s lawyer, in which the attorney proposed that his client admit two counts of tax fraud in a deal to avoid jail.
The Attorney General later testified in court that he had no knowledge of any such deal.
GarcÃa Ortiz does have the option of lodging an appeal with the Constitutional Court.
He has also been ordered to pay €7,200 in fines, €10,000 in compensation to Gonzalez Amador plus court fees.
It was the first time in Spain’s modern history that a top prosecutor faced a criminal trial.
The case is one of several involving suspected corruption that have implicated people close to Pedro Sanchez.
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