ABC
The dana case judge rejects investigating whether Vilaplana lied during her testimony
The judge in Catarroja, who handles the dana case, has refused to open a separate probe for alleged perjury against Maribel Vilaplana, the journalist who dined at El Ventorro with the acting Generalitat president, Carlos Mazón, on Oct 29, 2024. The magistrate declined to initiate proceedings against the journalist, who testified on Monday, November 3, after one of the accusations noted apparent contradictions in her account. She had also requested that the mayors of Cullera and Utiel be summoned to clarify alleged discrepancies in the phone calls made that same day. In her order, the judge recalls that, under Supreme Court doctrine, a possible perjury offense can only be recognized once the main proceeding has concluded and a final judgment has been issued, when there is a judicial truth to compare with the witness's statement. She expressly cites jurisprudence stating that “perjury is proven by comparing what the witness said with the truth stated in the judgment.” The order adds that the request is “relevant” but should be limited to the devices and senior officials of the Justice and Interior departments who received the alerts on Oct 28 and 29, specifying the reception devices and the officials, excluding Presidencia de la Generalitat devices, since that would involve analyzing how the Presidency received the information, which must be excluded from the investigation. The judge thus rejects accepting elements that directly affect the investigation of communications sent to Presidencia. She also rejects ACPV's request to require the Generalitat to provide copies of documents signed by Carlos Mazón at El Ventorro on the day of the dana while dining with Vilaplana, since beyond their public object—scholarships for elite athletes whose deadline had passed—they are not decisive for Cecopi's decision-making, nor do they meet the criteria set by Valencia's Provincial Court in its Oct 16, 2025 auto regarding admissible evidence to be presented or agreed upon in the investigation.
