Icod de los Vinos Mayor Faces Trial Over Alleged Administrative Prevarication

The Icod de los Vinos City Council is facing legal scrutiny after a local court moved forward with a case against Mayor Javier Sierra Jorge. The court has officially transitioned the preliminary investigation into an abbreviated procedure, a key step that could lead to a formal trial. The mayor is being investigated for an alleged crime of administrative prevarication by omission.

The case stems from a complaint filed by a municipal employee, who claims the mayor failed to move forward with a disciplinary file against a colleague. The presiding magistrate suggests that the mayor intentionally stalled the process, allegedly citing a personal friendship with the employee in question. As a result, the legal deadline to resolve the file passed, causing the case to expire. If found guilty, the mayor could face a ban from holding public office for nine to fifteen years.

The court has given the prosecution and the complainant until April 24 to submit formal charges. However, the case remains legally contested; the mayor’s defense is working to overturn the court’s decision, while the prosecution is seeking to add further evidence.

Mayor Sierra Jorge has acknowledged the proceedings but maintains that the court’s order is not a final verdict. He argues that previous rulings from the Cabildo of Tenerife and social courts have already dismissed claims related to these events. He maintains that the case is politically motivated, though he has expressed his respect for the judicial process and his confidence that he will be cleared of any wrongdoing.

This case underscores the importance of impartiality in local government. To secure a conviction for prevarication by omission, the court must prove that the mayor’s inaction was a deliberate choice to bypass the law for personal reasons, rather than a simple oversight. This central question will be the focus of the upcoming legal proceedings.