Accuser of French rugby denounces courts before Mendoza rights committee

The woman who denounced being raped by two French rugby players appeared before the human rights committee of the Mendoza provincial legislature to denounce that her rights had been "violated" by local courts.

"We protest what we believe to have been, and still is, a constant and permanent violation of the rights and guarantees we have in the judicial sphere," Félix, the father of the plaintiff who preferred not to give his surname to protect his daughter’s identity, told the press.

Mendoza’s Rights and Guarantees Committee is made up of provincial deputies from different political parties.

Although their resolutions have no judicial value, they formally request explanations from the prosecutor in charge of the investigation.

The opposition deputy chairing the committee, José Luis Ramón (centre-left), informed the press that there was "no agreement" to make that request to the prosecution while saying that he personally would be requesting access to the files of the investigation.

"There are some very marked political aspects" in this issue, denounced Ramón, warning of a "bid to transform the victim into the culprit" and holding the centre-right provincial government responsible.

"Something stinks," he added, referring to presumed "political pressures" to close the case and "extreme bias" in the decisions taken by the prosecution.

Ramón underlined that the lawyer of the rugby players, Rafael Cúneo Libarona, is the brother of the Milei government’s Justice minister.

Hugo Auradou and Oscar Jegou, two French rugby players both aged 21, are accused of aggravated rape committed on the night of July 6-7 in a Mendoza hotel room following the French national team’s test match against the Pumas.

The players maintained from the start that the sexual relations with the plaintiff were consented, always denying any violence.

Initially detained and then subjected to house arrest, they were released in mid-August and then authorised to leave Argentina until the conclusión of the investigation. They returned to France on September 4 and have since resumed training at their clubs. 

– TIMES/AFP