The judicial process against former Argentine president Alberto Fernández, who is accused of gender violence, is advancing rapidly and in just ten days the cover of the case was changed to aggravate the crimes he is accused of. The former first lady, Fabiola Yáñez, has already testified, and the first six witnesses have been identified and dozens of measures of evidence have been requested.
The crisis that sealed the political debacle of the former president began on August 4, when the newspaper Clarín revealed that, within the framework of an investigation into alleged corruption, chats had been found in which Yáñez told the presidential secretary, María Cantero , that Fernández hit her. To prove it, she included photographs that were later leaked and spread around the world.
The scandal was immediate. Two days later, the former first lady filed a criminal complaint against Fernández for “minor injuries,” a charge that has a maximum penalty of one year in prison.
But then he decided to expand the accusations and prosecutor Ramiro González agreed that the former president would be investigated for the crimes of “minor and serious injuries, doubly aggravated and coercive threats.” If Fernández is found guilty, he could be sentenced to up to ten years in prison.
The prosecutor also summoned the first witnesses. This is Miriam Yañez Verdugo, the mother of Fabiola Yáñez, who currently lives with her in Spain; Daniel Rodríguez, former mayor of the Olivos presidential residence, where the alleged attacks occurred; and Sofía Pacchi, a friend of the former first lady and former employee of the General Secretariat of the Presidency, who was allegedly sexually harassed by Fernández.
The list is completed with the secretary of the former president, María Cantero, since Yáñez told her about the violence she suffered; the former head of the Presidential Medical Unit, Federico Walter Saavedra, who would have treated her when she was beaten; and journalist Alicia Barros, friend of the former first lady.
The statements of the witnesses will be key to the future of the case, since, if it is proven that the president’s secretary, the doctor and the mayor of Olivos knew that Fernández was hitting Yáñez and did nothing, they could be charged with cover-up and /or participation.
In addition, the case has another derivation that complicates the former Minister of Women, Ayelén Mazzina, since the former first lady claims that she told her about the violence she suffered but he never helped her, which the former official has denied.
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2024-08-19 18:12:09
