Court rejects lawyers’ move to stop Princess Cristina trial

Princess Cristina will have to take her seat in the dock when the “caso Noos” trial opens. Her lawyers had sought to suspend or stop her standing trial as it has wanted to resolve whether or not her being an accused is legitimate.
The High Court in Palma has rejected her lawyers’ petition.
The “union”, Manos Limpias, is the princess’s sole prosecutor - on charges of tax offences - and her lawyers have argued that this is a legal violation because neither the public prosecutor nor the Tax Agency has attributed to her any crime. They had cited the so-called Botin doctrine, one which was applied in a case involving the late president of Santander Bank, which took the view that a “popular” prosecution, i.e. not one by the state, was not permissible. The anti-corruption prosecutor also believes that Botin should apply.
Pedro Horrach, one of the chief prosecutors, has said that if the state - both the prosecutor and the tax authority - cannot find legitimate grounds for believing that crimes have been committed, then the legal process should not be “usurped” by another party, i.e. Manos Limpias. Horrach has also said that there appears to be a “presumption of guilt” within sections of the media where the princess is concerned.
The charges against the princess relate to the company Aizoon of which she was a director along with her husband Iñaki Urdangarin and through which it is alleged that almost 340,000 euros were defrauded.