The spokesperson for Social Policy of the PP in Les Corts, Elena Bastidas, has positively assessed that the Committee on Petitions of the European Parliament has decided not to conclude the investigation into the alleged cover-up of sexual abuse of a minor under guardianship, attributed to the ex-husband of the former vice-president of the Consell and former minister of Equality of the Botànic government, Mónica Oltra, between 2016 and 2017, while the judicial proceedings are still ongoing in Spain.
On March 5, Court of Instruction number 15 of Valencia ordered the opening of oral proceedings against Oltra and several members of her team in the Conselleria. This resolution was adopted after the Valencia Court of Appeal ordered it and against the opinion expressed by the Public Prosecutor's Office.
As the PPCV has underlined in a statement, the European Parliament's decision comes after Bastidas' appearance on May 7 before the Committee on Petitions, where she called for an examination of whether "European standards of protection and institutional response" were violated during the Botànic government in relation to this case.
"The European Parliament has understood that this matter cannot be closed prematurely and has decided to remain vigilant because what is important here is the protection of the minor and the proper functioning of public institutions," stated the 'popular' deputy.
Bastidas emphasized that in her speech she denounced "the attempt to shift the focus from the victim to the alleged political suffering of those who had institutional responsibilities." "We cannot allow the narrative to erase the real victim: the abused minor. We said it in Brussels and today the Committee on Petitions itself acknowledges that there are still issues that need to be further examined," she stressed.
At the same time, the GPP parliamentarian reiterated that "the presumption of innocence and judicial responsibility do not erase political, institutional, or moral responsibility." In her opinion, "precisely for this reason, Europe is keeping this investigation open and, with this decision, dismantles the attempt by some sectors to present this matter as political persecution."
The 'popular' spokesperson has insisted that "this case transcends partisan politics" because it affects "the trust of supervised minors and their families in the protection system." "When a minor under public guardianship reports abuse, institutions have the obligation to act with absolute diligence and transparency," she added.
Along these lines, Bastidas has defended that in recent years the protocols and tools for the protection of minors in the Valencian Community have been reinforced, although she has warned that "improving does not mean forgetting." "If procedures have had to be reinforced, it is precisely because there were failures that must never be repeated," she concluded.