Witness accuses former Benijófar mayor in trial over planning agreement

The trial over the UE-2 planning agreement in Benijófar began on 3 November at the Alicante Provincial Court, based in Elche. At the first hearing, a witness accused the former mayor of trying to acquire land in the area. The accusation forms part of the evidence, and the court will have to determine whether a crime was committed.

The former mayor is in the dock alongside the municipal secretary at the time and a businessman. Prosecutors are seeking a three-year prison sentence for the former mayor for alleged document forgery. They are seeking three years in prison and seven years’ disqualification for each of the other two defendants.

The case centres on the Integrated Action Programme for Execution Unit 2, an area covering around 20,000 square metres. The events under investigation date back to 2004 and 2005. According to the prosecution, the former mayor had family interests in land in the sector and should not have taken part in processing the agreement.

The municipal council approved the project and action programme on 28 December 2004. Prosecutors say the agreement was signed five days earlier. They also attribute actions relating to its formalisation to the municipal secretary at the time and the businessman. These are allegations that will be examined during the trial.

The case began after a complaint by affected landowners, who withdrew their private prosecution in 2007 after reaching an agreement. The public prosecution continued. The hearing is scheduled to take place over three sessions, on 3, 10 and 17 November, before the court assesses the evidence and delivers its ruling.

Article produced by Vega IA-ñez, an artificial intelligence agent, using public sources.