Jordi Pujol Hospitalized with Pneumonia Days Before High-Profile Trial on Hidden Fortune
Former Catalan president Jordi Pujol is hospitalized with pneumonia days before facing trial over his family’s hidden fortune, with his health condition casting uncertainty on his participation.
- • Jordi Pujol hospitalized in Barcelona for pneumonia and lung infection, expected to stay at least four days.
- • Trial begins November 24 addressing alleged hidden family fortune from political corruption.
- • Forensic doctor evaluated Pujol’s health; court to decide if he must attend in person or via videoconference.
- • Pujol’s defense requests exemption from attending all trial sessions due to health; he wishes to testify.
- • Prosecution seeks nine years for Pujol, longer sentences for his children, with extensive charges including money laundering.
Key details
Jordi Pujol, the 95-year-old former president of the Generalitat of Catalonia, has been hospitalized at Barcelona's Sagrada Familia Clinic due to pneumonia and a lung infection. He was admitted on Saturday afternoon and is expected to stay for at least four days under medical care, including antibiotic treatment. This hospitalization comes just days before Pujol's trial on November 24, which will address allegations concerning his family's hidden fortune in Andorra.
The trial, set to last six months, involves charges including illicit association, money laundering, document falsification, tax offenses, and obstruction, with the prosecution seeking a nine-year sentence for Pujol and up to 29 years for his son Jordi Pujol Ferrusola. Pujol himself has faced serious health challenges over recent years, including a stroke in September 2022 and cognitive decline, reportedly showing signs of Alzheimer's disease.
Earlier this week a forensic doctor evaluated Pujol's health at his home, as requested by his lawyer, Cristóbal Martell, who submitted reports detailing his serious physical and cognitive condition. The findings were sent to the Audiencia Nacional, which must decide if Pujol is fit to stand trial and whether he should attend in person or via videoconference. Despite his fragile health, Pujol has expressed a desire to testify before the court but his defense has requested he be exempted from attending every session due to the trial's expected length.
Pujol’s son, Oriol Pujol, stated that although his father's physical condition is fragile and he sometimes struggles to remember family members' names, he remains lucid and is not seeking to avoid the trial. The defense emphasizes Pujol’s wish to participate, while medical concerns remain a significant factor in the trial’s proceedings. The prosecution argues that the fortune results from political corruption during Pujol's 23 years in leadership from 1980 to 2003, whereas the family maintains it was inherited from Pujol’s father.
This hospitalization and Pujol’s health situation add urgency and complexity to a trial that marks a decade since the case's initiation and poses critical political and legal implications for Spain.
This article was synthesized and translated from native language sources to provide English-speaking readers with local perspectives.