Juan Pedro Yllanes Suárez (born 12 January 1960) is a Spanish former judge and politician. He presided over cases in his native Andalusia and in the Balearic Islands. He served in the Congress of Deputies from 2016 to 2019, and as the Vice President of the Balearic Islands from 2019 to 2023. He was elected on the lists of Podemos, though he was never a member of the party.[1]

Juan Pedro Yllanes
Vice President of the Balearic Islands
In office
3 July 2019 – 30 June 2023
Preceded byBel Busquets
Succeeded byAntonio Costa
Member of the Congress of Deputies
In office
13 January 2016 – 5 March 2019
ConstituencyBalearic Islands
Personal details
Born(1960-01-12)12 January 1960
Seville, Andalusia, Spain
Political partyPodemos
Alma materUniversity of Seville
OccupationJudge
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Born in Seville, Andalusia, Yllanes graduated in Law from the University of Seville, and became a magistrate in 1991.[2]

In January 2004, Yllanes made international headlines by sentencing Mohamed Kamal Mustafa, imam of the Fuengirola Mosque, to 15 months in prison for inciting violence against women through a book encouraging physical violence towards wives. The cleric had cited freedom of religion and precedent in Islamic law in his defence. The ruling was the first verdict of its kind in Spain.[3][4]

Yllanes later moved to the courts of the Balearic Islands. In October 2009, he sentenced Javier Rodrigo de Santos, the deputy leader of the People's Party in Palma de Mallorca, to 13 years and 6 months in prison for child sexual abuse. Santos, a Catholic conservative, had abused boys during church activities.[5]

In June 2015, Yllanes was appointed to judge Infanta Cristina of Spain – daughter of Juan Carlos I and sister of Felipe VI – her husband Iñaki Urdangarin and several others in the Nóos case.[6] He left the case and the judicial profession in November, so he could lead Podemos's list in the Balearics in the 2015 Spanish general election.[2]

Political career

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Yllanes was re-elected in 2016. In October 2017, he was the only Podemos deputy to not stand and display a message in support of Jordi Sànchez and Jordi Cuixart, two jailed organisers of the 2017 Catalan independence referendum. Earlier in the year, he was the only Podemos deputy to not sign an initiative supporting the perpetrators of the Altsasu incident in which two off-duty Civil Guards and their girlfriends were beaten in Navarre.[7] During the dispute in Podemos between Pablo Iglesias and Íñigo Errejón, Yllanes backed the latter, but years later ruled out joining his new Más País party.[8]

In November 2018 Yllanes was chosen as the lead candidate for the 2019 Balearic regional election. He received 1,344 of the 1,525 votes.[9] His party fell from ten to six seats,[10] but entered government through a pact with winners Socialist Party of the Balearic Islands (PSIB) and Més per Mallorca, resulting in him becoming vice president.[11]

Yllanes retired and did not stand in the 2023 Balearic regional election, in which Podemos declined from six to one seat. He called for national party leader Ione Belarra to resign, and alleged that she and Pablo Echenique only remained in politics due to unspecified "interests". He called for the party to be dissolved and absorbed into Yolanda Díaz's new left-wing alliance, Sumar.[1]

References

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  1. ^ a b López de Miguel, Alejandro (30 May 2023). "El vicepresidente de Baleares, de Podemos, pide la dimisión de la cúpula y la "disolución" en Sumar" [The vice president of the Balearic Islands, of Podemos, requests the resignation of the leadership and the "dissolution" into Sumar]. El Confidencial (in Spanish). Retrieved 5 June 2023.
  2. ^ a b "El Poder Judicial le concede la excedencia al juez Yllanes, candidato de Podemos" [Judicial Council allows Judge Yllanes, Podemos candidate, to resign]. Heraldo de Aragón (in Spanish). 19 November 2015. Retrieved 25 October 2021.
  3. ^ Fuchs, Dale (15 January 2004). "Spain Sentences Imam for Book Offering Advice on Wife-Beating". The New York Times. Retrieved 25 October 2021.
  4. ^ Ríos, Pere (14 January 2004). "Condenado el imam de Fuengirola por incitar a la violencia contra las mujeres" [Imam of Fuengirola sentenced for inciting violence against women]. El País (in Spanish). Retrieved 25 October 2021.
  5. ^ Manesa, Andreu (29 October 2009). "Condenado a 13 años por abuso de menores un ex edil del PP en Palma" [Ex-PP councillor in Palma sentenced to 13 years for abusing children]. El País (in Spanish). Retrieved 25 October 2021.
  6. ^ "Así es Juan Pedro Yllanes, el magistrado que juzgará a la infanta" [This is Juan Pedro Yllanes, the magistrate who will judge the Infanta]. El Mundo (in Spanish). 12 June 2015. Retrieved 25 October 2021.
  7. ^ Cabanillas, Ana (18 October 2017). "El juez Yllanes, el único diputado de Podemos que no pidió la libertad de los 'Jordis'" [Judge Yllanes, only Podemos deputy who did not ask for freedom for the 'Jordis']. El Independiente (in Spanish). Retrieved 25 October 2021.
  8. ^ Terrassa, Montse; Cortés, Alexander (19 January 2019). "Yllanes toma distancias de Errejón y descarta ir con otra marca que no sea Podemos" [Yllanes distances himself form Errejón and rules out going with any other brand but Podemos]. Diario de Mallorca (in Spanish). Retrieved 25 October 2021.
  9. ^ "Yllanes, candidato de Podemos para las elecciones autonómicas de Baleares" [Yllanes, Podemos candidate for the Balearic autonomous election]. Diario de Mallorca (in Spanish). 27 November 2018. Retrieved 25 October 2021.
  10. ^ Sampedro, Lola (27 May 2019). "Resultados elecciones Baleares: El PSIB gana y podrá volver a gobernar con Pacte de izquierdas" [Balearic election results: PSIB win and could govern again with a left-wing pact]. El Mundo (in Spanish). Retrieved 25 October 2021.
  11. ^ "Juan Pedro Yllanes, nuevo vicepresidente del Govern" [Juan Pedro Yllanes, new Vice President of the Government]. Última Hora (in Spanish). 20 June 2019. Retrieved 25 October 2021.