A judge turns down most of the evidence requests

On Wednesday, 14 October 2026, Audiencia Nacional judge Santiago Pedraz issued an order rejecting, for now, most of the evidence requests filed by Beatriz Biedma, the Badajoz judge who instructed the case against David Sánchez, brother of Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez. Among the refused requests is the testimony of Cintia Rocho, described as the alleged head of a drug clan in Badajoz, whom the order says has already testified before the UCO. Pedraz wrote that the files and complaints Biedma wanted added would matter only if there were indications they were carried out together with Leire Díez and her group. Most of those complaints concern the conduct of former judge Luis Sáenz de Tejada toward Biedma, not the organisation under investigation. The order belongs to the case against Leire Díez and former PSOE figures such as Santos Cerdán, who are accused of allegedly trying to derail judicial probes affecting the party and the government.

Sáenz de Tejada and the hearing on 28 October

Pedraz has already summoned Sáenz de Tejada as an investigated party. He will hear him on 28 October to decide whether the crimes of criminal organisation, slander and coercion attributed to him fall within the activities of Leire Díez's group. Biedma told the judge that Sáenz de Tejada had filed about fifty complaints against her. The former judge, who was expelled from the judiciary, argues that his conviction for threats and psychological violence against his wife followed a complaint by his ex-partner, also a judge in Badajoz. Rocho told the Guardia Civil that Sáenz de Tejada said Biedma had to be eliminated, a version he denies, saying he never spoke with Rocho.

Protection and the judge's testimony

Biedma gave her statement as a victim on 8 October, telling Pedraz that she and her daughters had been watched, though she did not know whether Leire Díez was behind it. Audio of that testimony, first aired by the television programme Código 10, carries her words about her lack of protection.

I have no protection. There, doing something to me is very easy.

Since 14 October she has a security device under the protocols for such cases, José Luis Quintana, the government delegate in Extremadura, has explained. The timeline below sets out the dates that frame the case so far.

Political reaction and the CGPJ split

Nine progressive members of the General Council of the Judiciary (CGPJ) refused to back a support statement proposed by conservative members at Wednesday's plenary. The text lamented "hostigamiento, seguimiento o intimidación" that allegedly affected the judge and her surroundings. Ester Muñoz, the People's Party spokesperson in the Congress of Deputies, said in Lorca that one can be progressive without being a feminist. Speaking to reporters, she added:

I think few things deserve a letter of support and encouragement more.

Journalist Santiago Martínez-Vares, speaking on LaSexta, found the refusal hard to understand, described the alleged facts as very grave, and asked the PSOE to explain its links to the investigated network. He also claimed that some people working at La Moncloa had been present at those meetings. Justice minister Félix Bolaños, interviewed on LaSexta, urged the Audiencia Nacional to investigate the alleged harassment fully.

Justice has to do its work, it has to investigate to the end.

Bolaños called the accusations very serious and noted that Pedraz had written in an order that there was no indication pointing at the Socialist Party. He also said Sáenz de Tejada had a long history of personal feuds with Biedma.