A federal judge formally charged former Argentine president Alberto Fernández with gender violence against former first lady Fabiola Yáñez. Judge Julián Ercolini processed Fernández as the responsible author of minor and serious injury crimes, aggravated by having occurred in a context of gender violence. He is also accused of coercive threats. The ex-president has been garnished for 10 million pesos.
According to the resolution accessed by The Associated Press, Ercolini detailed that Fernández would have exercised psychological violence against Yáñez habitually for eight years, including the couple's pregnancy period. The judge mentioned forms of harassment, bullying, insults, and physical assaults such as grabs by the neck, shakes, and open-handed slaps.
Alberto Fernández, the first president in Argentine history formally accused of gender violence, has publicly denied the accusations made by Yáñez in August of last year. The magistrate emphasized that the consequences of the assaults would have left lasting psychological harm in Yáñez, causing permanent deterioration of her health.
Ercolini took into account various pieces of evidence, such as WhatsApp conversations, statements from Yáñez, medical certificates documenting the injuries, and testimonies from family and acquaintances corroborating the mistreatment. If found guilty at trial, Alberto Fernández could face up to 18 years in prison.
"I never exercised physical violence against Fabiola Yáñez," declared the former president in February when presenting a document to the judge. Fernández requested the magistrate to divorce him from the case, arguing a supposed animosity against him.
