Court rejects Matas' appeal against judge

The ex Balearic President's Defence Council claimed that as a result of the judge's prejudice, their client could not expect to receive a fair trial.
According to Antonio Alberca, lawyer for Matas, it would be better if Judge Castro left the so-called Palma Arena corruption scandal case because four of his judgements against Matas are reportedly littered with preconceived ideas about the accused and are therefore inaccurate assessments.

But the Provincial court in Palma said yesterday that not only was the appeal unfounded, but it had also been made outside the permitted legal time frame.

The Provincial court said that Matas' previous lawyer was well aware of the contents of the judgements made by Castro against his client and failed to react.

A costly affair
The court said that although Matas had been claiming that there was lack of impartiality against him in the hearings led by Judge Castro, the ex President's lawyers had failed to justify the complaint or provide evidence that the judge was indeed prejudiced. “The appeal is without foundation,” read the court judgement yesterday, “and as such we reject it.” Because the appeal has fallen on stony ground, Matas will now have to pay the legal costs related to it.
In fact the Palma Arena corruption scandal being investigated by the regional Fraud Squad has proved so intricate that it has been broken down into 26 separate sections.

Matas, and other former government figures and planning directors, are accused of massive misappropriation of public funds. The cost of the construction of the Palma Arena allegedly cost around three times its original budget.

Separately Matas is also accused of misuse of public funds for a Palma Opera Hosue project.