Charges sought against ex-president Alberto Fernández after battery claims

Prosecutors on Wednesday sought the indictment of former president Alberto Fernández for "injuries" and "threats" alleged by his ex-partner Fabiola Yáñez, who has denounced him for gender violence.

Yáñez, 43,  filed a complaint on August 6 accusing Fernández, 65, of having beaten her during their relationship, which ended after he left office in 2023, and of "psychological terrorism."

Prosecutor Ramiro González, in a letter submitted to court, asked for charges to be brought against the ex-president for "minor and serious injuries, doubly aggravated," as well as "coercive threats."

He said there was evidence Yáñez had "suffered a relationship marked by harassment, psychological harassment and physical aggression in a context of gender and domestic violence."

A source close to the case said that the prosecutor's request left the decision in the hands of the magistrate overseeing the case. 

Judge Julián Ercolini will make the final decision on whether or not to charge Fernández. It is unlikely the judge will dismiss the request.

The scandal erupted when text messages detailing the alleged violence cropped up in a separate fraud investigation.

Yáñez's former lawyer, Juan Pablo Fioribello, told the La Nacion+ news channel last week that messages detailing the alleged attacks, with photographic evidence, were found on the phone of Fernández's private secretary, Maria Cantero.

The phone was being analysed as part of a probe into influence peddling during Fernandez's administration.

After initially deciding not to press charges, Yáñez later contacted the investigating judge to file a complaint. 

Fernández, who denies the accusations, has been barred from leaving the country pending the probe.

Last week, details and photos of the alleged abuse were published in local media outlets, with images of Yáñez with bruises on her face and arm. 

The images generated uproar, with Fernández's political allies and enemies offering near unanimous condemnation.

On Tuesday, Yáñez gave testimony from Madrid, where she now lives, to González, the prosecutor. The previous day, she had filed a 20-page writ with the court detailing alleged beatings and abuse.

In his report, the prosecutor described nine alleged acts of violence, including an abortion Yáñez said was forced on her by Fernández, and an incident where he allegedly kicked her in the stomach, despite "knowing that she might be pregnant at that time."

It took place the same day that the so-called "Olivosgate photo" was leaked to the press, in which Fernández and Yáñez are seen with several people at a birthday party at the Olivos presidential residence when public gatherings were prohibited due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

González also cited two episodes from 2021, in which Fernández allegedly held his former partner by the arm and hit her in the eye, causing her visible injuries.

At least one of these injuries was photographed by Yáñez and sent to Fernández's private secretary, María Cantero.

Yáñez says her former partner is guilty of "abuse, denial of speech and harassment," among other offences.

She has also accused the former president of smoking marijuana while serving as head of state.

Damaging revelations are continuing to hit the press every day. On Thursday, the La Nación newspaper printed alleged chat messages from Yáñez’s phone. 

"Knowing that I could be pregnant, today he kicked me in the belly," said Yañez in a message sent to Cantero on August 12, 2021.

"Yesterday he slapped me and today he grabbed me by the neck," continues the former first lady in another reprinted message.

"I can't believe what you are telling me. He is having a very bad time, but that doesn’t justify it," Cantero responds in the alleged exchange.

The Infobae website also reprinted messages, showing chat conversations in which Yáñez informs Fernández’s secretary that she had repeatedly been “hit,” “kicked” and “slapped” by the ex-president.

Prosecutor González has summoned Yáñez's mother, Miriam Yáñez Verdugo, who currently lives with her in Madrid, to testify, as well as Dr. Federico Saavedra, a doctor at the Presidential Medical Unit who, according to Yáñez, treated her after one of the alleged beatings by Fernández.

Cantero and Daniel Rodríguez, the head of the Quinta de Olivos, located in the outskirts of Buenos Aires and where Fernández and Yáñez lived between 2019 and 2023, will also be summoned.

In two interviews with two media outlets, Argentina's El Cohete a la Luna and Spain's El País, Fernández has denied physically assaulting Yáñez, though he has admitted the couple often argued during their relationship.

With the scandal showing no sign of slowing, Fernández – who denies the allegations against him – formally resigned the presidency of the Partido Justicialista on Wednesday, stating that he did not want to involve the Peronist party in the “false accusations” against him.
 

– TIMES/AFP