The Madrid-based judge, María Dolores Baeza, has permitted Pedro Sánchez to act as a private accuser in a case involving Hazte Oír’s controversial banner that labelled him ‘corrupt’. The banner was placed outside the Congress of Deputies on the nineteenth of May and has led to allegations of defamation against the Prime Minister. Sánchez’s legal representation had requested this status in order to be involved in the ongoing legal proceedings.

The case originally began in the Madrid Court of Instruction Number Nine, following a police report from MP Begoña Nasarre, who filed a complaint on behalf of the Socialist Parliamentary Group against Hazte Oír for alleged defamation and slander. The investigation was later transferred to Court Number Twelve, where Sánchez was offered the opportunity to join the case as an affected party.

Hazte Oír’s banner, measuring over two hundred and fifty-three square metres, displayed a large image of Sánchez alongside the term ‘corrupt’, along with references to various corruption cases linked to his name. The banner was installed around eleven in the morning but was removed by the Madrid Fire Brigade early the following morning at the direction of the court.

The Socialist Party has raised concerns about the banner’s impactful location and sought further legal measures to prevent the dissemination of similar imagery. In response, Hazte Oír has contested Sánchez’s involvement, arguing that he bypassed any attempt at reconciliation before resorting to criminal proceedings, and has requested the judge to revoke his accuser status until a reconciliation procedure is certified.