The PSPV and Compromís have called for the removal of Julio de España’s portrait from the headquarters of the Valencian parliament after the former regional president was sentenced to 18 months in prison for sexually assaulting a patient while working as a doctor.
De España presided over the Corts Valencianes from 2003 to 2007. He also previously served as president of Alicante’s provincial government and as a senator for the People’s Party.
The PSPV cited a resolution approved by the Corts’ plenary session in October 2015 calling for the removal of commemorative plaques and honorary mentions in buildings belonging to the Generalitat Valenciana when they refer to convicted individuals.
In a submission to the parliament, the Socialists argued that the conviction was incompatible with maintaining honorary recognition in Valencian institutions, including De España’s portrait in the gallery of former presidents at the Palau dels Borja. Compromís submitted a separate request, stating that the sentence made the portrait’s presence in an area of honour inappropriate.
The Second Section of the Alicante Provincial Court sentenced De España after finding that he breached medical standards during an examination at a private clinic in Alicante on 7 August 2023. The court found that he touched the genital area of a patient who had sought an assessment of food intolerance linked to heavy digestion and intestinal inflammation.
The judgment states that De España examined several parts of the patient’s body and then instructed her to adopt a position facing the wall. The court considered a rectal examination medically justified and therefore not criminal, but ruled that he later touched the patient’s genital area without informing her.
Sources: La Vanguardia.