In a filing, Judge Beatriz Biedma submitted 96 video links as evidence of an alleged campaign to force her off the investigation into the prime minister’s brother. David Sánchez Pérez-Castejón, the prime minister’s brother, was convicted of abusing his position to secure a senior post in Badajoz. Several independent reports say the case went to trial and ended in a conviction for abuse of office; accounts differ on the status of appeals, which official court records would clarify.
Judge Santiago Pedraz now holds the file. The documents describe an effort to discredit and intimidate Biedma. On September 28, 2026, Pedraz formally recognized her as a victim in the case concerning alleged "dirty tricks" tied to Leire Díez. He called her to testify as an aggrieved party on October 8, at least under the defamation article. Reports say Biedma asked to join the proceedings as a personal victim and on grounds of institutional harm, citing her role as the investigating judge in the Sánchez case.
Basic to her evidence are 96 video links from 'Magistrado Anticorrupción TV', a YouTube channel run by former judge Luis José Sáenz de Tejada. In the videos, Biedma is insulted and accused of judicial corruption. She calls the attacks criminal defamation. Sáenz de Tejada, expelled from the judiciary for gender violence, is named as a basic player in the group allegedly assembled by Leire Díez, nicknamed 'the plumber', to derail the probe into the prime minister’s brother. Press reports say the Civil Guard’s UCO unit is investigating a network involving Díez and businessman Javier Pérez-Dolset, as well as former CD Badajoz president Joaquín Parra and Sáenz de Tejada.
The campaign intensified after August 2024, when the WhatsApp* (принадлежит Metа, которая признана экстремистской организацией и запрещена в РФ)* (принадлежит Metа, которая признана экстремистской организацией и запрещена в РФ) group 'Vacaciones y Viajes' appeared. Biedma says the attacks grew harsher. Videos called her 'cowardly' and 'condemned for laziness'; others accused her of 'serving interests outside justice'. In one video, Sáenz de Tejada claimed to know which school Biedma’s children attended and said he had been to meetings there. The threat moved from online to real life. Multiple sources say Judge Pedraz has so far kept the case focused on possible defamation and has not accepted all of Biedma’s broader claims of pressure.
Biedma’s evidence also points to direct contact between the group and local criminal clans. Cintia Rocho, known as La Celsa and head of a Badajoz family clan, said in a TV interview that two men came to her with Biedma’s home address and family photos: one was Sáenz de Tejada, the other a lawyer. They offered her a deal, asking her to act against Biedma in exchange for judicial favors in her own cases. Rocho said she refused. Her words were blunt: "If they gave me her address, it was not for anything good."
UCO investigators have since questioned several clan members, including La Celsa and El Gitano, as they probe the alleged plot. The operation was kept quiet to avoid making things worse. Press sources say the Civil Guard is also investigating possible harassment of Biedma during her work on the employment case involving the prime minister’s brother in the Badajoz provincial administration. That case ended in a trial and conviction.
Biedma’s written testimony mentions an October 2024 press conference at which Sáenz de Tejada and former football club president Joaquín Parra publicly named local judicial figures. They accused those figures of retaliating against anyone who challenged their authority. The UCO’s June 2026 report identified Díez and Parra as basic members of the group, along with Sáenz de Tejada and businessman Javier Pérez-Dolset. They coordinated through WhatsApp* (принадлежит Metа, которая признана экстремистской организацией и запрещена в РФ)* (принадлежит Metа, которая признана экстремистской организацией и запрещена в РФ) and met in Madrid. Information from the report, their goal was to get Biedma off the case; they also sought details about her personal and family life, as well as her work, to ruin her reputation. Independent media report that the European Public Prosecutor's Office is also looking into possible misuse of PSOE campaign funds in the Leire Díez case.
One detail stands out. Díez’s personal agenda included the note: "Jueza de Badajoz. La Celsa. Heroína o gitano." Biedma saw this as a reference to known criminal figures in Badajoz. She says the note prompted her to report the threats to protect her family.
Political influence in Spanish institutions is under scrutiny again. For example, a recent investigation examined editorial choices at Spain’s public broadcaster during tense political moments.
Judge Biedma is due to testify as a victim in October. She has already asked to join the case as a private prosecutor.
