Spanish People's Party Supports Former Monarch's Decision To Leave Country

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 04th August, 2020) The Spanish conservative People's Party supports the decision of the former king, Juan Carlos I, who recently left the country amid a corruption scandal, party's leader Pablo Casado said on Tuesday.

"The People's Party expresses its respect for the decision made ... by Juan Carlos, and confirms the recognition of his work as the head of state and his great contribution to the transition period, the adoption of the constitution and the building of a social, democratic and legal state in Spain," Casado wrote on Twitter.

On Monday, the former monarch sent a letter to his son Felipe, who is the current king, saying he had decided to leave Spain.

His lawyer, Javier Sanchez-Junco said on Monday that Juan Carlos I would remain at the disposal of Spanish prosecutors despite his decision to leave the country. Earlier in the day, the ABC Noticias newspaper said that Juan Carlos I was currently staying in the Dominican Republic.

Meanwhile, El Pais newspaper reported, citing sources, that the wife of the retired monarch, Sofia, would not follow her husband and stay at Zarzuela palace in Madrid.

In June, Spain's Supreme Court launched an investigation into Juan Carlos's role in a case concerning the 2011 construction contract for a high-speed railway from Saudi Arabia's Mecca to Medina.