The wife of the Spanish prime minister, Begoña Gómez, handed over her passport on Wednesday at the Plaza de Castilla courts in Madrid, complying with a precautionary measure imposed by Judge Juan Carlos Peinado.
Gómez appeared at the court around 18.00 accompanied by her lawyer Antonio Camacho. She entered through the garage after authorization from the Dean Judge María Jesús del Barco for security reasons.
Judge Peinado imposed the passport surrender, along with a ban on leaving Spain and bi-weekly court appearances, after sending Gómez to trial the previous Saturday on alleged charges of influence peddling, corruption in business, misappropriation and embezzlement.
The defense has appealed the measures to the Madrid Provincial Court. The government and PSOE have criticized the decision as disproportionate, while the CGPJ has opened a disciplinary file against the judge over his statements about police escorts.
