Jueza mantiene a Carlos Mazón como testigo y le niega acceso a la causa por la DANA
- On May 15, 2026, the Catarroja judge rejected Carlos Mazón’s bid to select documents from the DANA case, keeping him outside proceedings. - The judge said Mazón is not a party and recalled she had already offered him three chances to join proceedings, according to reports. - Valencia’s Audiencia Provincial is still pending Mazón’s appeal over the March 31 refusal to let him appear.
Carlos Mazón remains, for now, a witness rather than a party in the criminal case over the handling of the October 29, 2024 DANA floods in Valencia province. On May 15, the Catarroja judge rejected the former Valencian president’s request to identify and obtain specific documents from the file for use in his appeal, saying that option is not available to someone who is not formally part of the proceedings. The ruling leaves Mazón in the same procedural position set out after the judge cited him as a witness in March, following the Valencia high court’s decision not to investigate him as an aforado, or protected officeholder, in the case. The investigation concerns the management of the floods that left 230 dead in the province, according to court-related reports and subsequent filings. (europapress.es) ### Why did the judge block Mazón from choosing documents from the file? The May 15 order said Carlos Mazón could not use the “designación de particulares” procedure because he is not a party to the case. Europa Press, citing the ruling, reported that the judge said the obtaining of selected documents “no se puede admitir respecto de quien no es parte, y menos aún de forma anticipada,” and rejected Mazón’s review motion against an earlier decision by the court clerk. (poderjudicial.es) The same report said the judge rejected Mazón’s argument that he was being left defenseless procedurally. The issue before the court was not full access to the case file but whether he could specify documents to support his appeal to the Audiencia Provincial against the refusal to let him appear in the case. (europapress.es) ### How did Mazón get to this point in the case? On March 30, Mazón asked the Catarroja court to let him join the proceedings, saying he wanted to defend his interests after the Valencia high court declined to investigate him. His lawyer argued that the instruction was still affecting him and requested full access to the case once his appearance was admitted. (europapress.es) On March 31, the judge rejected that request and kept him in the position of witness, according to later reporting by EL PAÍS and other outlets. That left Mazón outside the file even as the investigation continued to gather evidence about the emergency response. ### What changed after the Valencia high court refused to investigate him? (europapress.es) On March 16, the TSJCV rejected opening a case against Mazón after the investigating judge had sent it a reasoned submission on February 24. The lower-court judge later said the high court’s order excluded Mazón’s responsibility “de forma completa” and, on that basis, agreed to summon him as a witness once the TSJCV ruling became final. (elpais.com) The March 24 court communication also said Mazón would be asked voluntarily to provide messages and phone calls from October 29, 2024 related to the DANA once the high court order had become final. That step tied his role in the case to testimony and document production, not to the rights of a formal party. (europapress.es) ### Did prosecutors agree with the judge? On April 30, the Fiscalía supported Mazón’s attempt to join the case and gain access to the proceedings, according to EL PAÍS, Europa Press and RTVE. The prosecution said the ability to designate specific documents was tied to the right to a second-instance appeal, a position the judge did not accept in her May 15 ruling. (poderjudicial.es) On April 15, the court gave prosecutors and the other parties five days to respond to Mazón’s appeal before the Audiencia Provincial. That appeal challenges the earlier refusal to let him appear in the case and remains the next formal step in the dispute over his procedural status. (elpais.com) ### What happens next in court? The Audiencia Provincial de Valencia is now due to decide Mazón’s appeal against the March 31 refusal to let him personarse in the DANA case. Separately, the Catarroja court has already said Mazón’s witness testimony and any voluntary submission of his October 29, 2024 messages and calls would take place once the TSJCV order is final. (europapress.es)
