Madrid court charges Sofía Puente with misconduct over grandchildren citizenship law

María Inmaculada Lova, head of Madrid's Court of First Instance and Preliminary Proceedings Number 35, has agreed to hear the complaint filed by Hazte Oír against Sofía Puente for administrative misconduct in the implementation of the Ley de Nietos (the "grandchildren law" on Spanish citizenship for descendants of exiles). The judge has not yet called her to testify as a suspect.

María Inmaculada Lova, head of Madrid's Court of First Instance and Preliminary Proceedings Number 35, has agreed to hear the complaint filed by **Hazte Oír** against **Sofía Puente** for a crime of administrative misconduct. The ruling, which Libertad Digital has had access to, considers that the facts "present characteristics that make it possible to presume the possible existence" of that crime and sets bail of **1,000 euros** for the complainant association. The judge has not yet called Puente to testify as an investigated party: the charge arises from admitting the complaint.

## What the implementation of the law is accused of

The origin of the case lies in the instruction that Sofía Puente issued while holding a post at the **Ministry of Justice** under **Félix Bolaños**. According to the complainant, that instruction was misleading and served to extend the application of the law to descendants of people who left Spain within a specific period of time, and not only to those persecuted during the Civil War. From there would have come the route that later allowed foreign descendants of those who lost their Spanish nationality after the conflict to obtain citizenship.

The law in question is the **Ley de Memoria Democrática** (Democratic Memory Law), passed in **2022**. The complaint targets the implementation of that law, not the text passed by the Spanish parliament, and the accusation holds that the instruction extended by administrative means the scope intended by the legislator.

## The bail and the prosecution's negative report

The ruling asks Hazte Oír for a payment of **1,000 euros** as bail and considers the preliminary proceedings appropriate to investigate whether Puente committed administrative misconduct. Those proceedings will be agreed with the complainant association.

The **Public Prosecutor's Office** reported against admitting the complaint. Despite that report, the judge has decided to move forward and open the investigation. This is a procedural step: admitting a complaint is not a conviction and does not prejudge the outcome.

## A process that still has a long way to go

The case is at the preliminary proceedings stage. Puente has not testified and no summons has been issued. Any outcome will depend on what is done in that investigation and what the court decides.

It is worth remembering that a charge does not prove any crime. The presumption of innocence remains in force and the proceedings may be dismissed or end in trial.