The Government attacks the judge of the ‘Errejón case’ and demands the need for courts specialized in sexual violence | Society

The leak of Elisa Mouliaá and Íñigo Errejón, after the complaint filed by the actress to Sumar’s former spokesperson, has unleashed a wave of criticism against the judge investigating the case, Adolfo Carretero, who asked the woman in a very offensive tone the reason why she did not stop the politician when he was allegedly harassing her or the reasons why she did not report him sooner. In his questions, the magistrate assessed whether there were spurious interests and asked Errejón if he promised her something that she later did not find. “And since that man doesn’t reciprocate, that’s why you’re now reporting him, because that man has laughed at you?” he told the complainant. “You are a person used to the public, were you not able to tell them that the conditions were not acceptable?” he asked. “Was she probably very drunk?” he also asked her.

The Minister of the Presidency, Justice and Relations with the Courts of Spain, Félix Bolaños, expressed concern this Tuesday at the press conference after the Council of Ministers that the images of the interrogation have been disseminated: “They are affecting sensitivity and “very intimate issues of people who are involved in a judicial procedure.” Furthermore, he stressed that It is essential that judges and magistrates have “deep knowledge” of gender issues to know how to manage these types of sensitive cases. “Given this questioning, it is essential that these sexual assault trials be heard by specialized sections, which is precisely what we have just approved in the Public Service Efficiency Law,” Bolaños said.

For her part, the Government spokesperson and Minister of Education, Pilar Alegría, has also shown her “concern” about this leak and has called not to question the victims. “Seeing the images that all citizens have been able to see, as a woman, has hurt me a lot. This normality in leaks is what generates concern, above all, because in trials, and especially when we are faced with, what we must do is evaluate the evidence and, above all, “he expressed.

The president of the Observatory against Domestic and Gender Violence of the General Council of the Judiciary, Esther Erice, has also released a statement, which has also been signed by the member of the Observatory Esther Rojo, to express her rejection of the leak of the videos of the statements given before the judge by the complainant and the person under investigation, “especially in the case of a procedure followed by sexual violence.” In the letter, he recalls the special protection that the law grants to the right to privacy of the victims of this type of crime and points out that this is a process in progress regarding which any assessment could constitute an interference in the jurisdictional function of the owner. of the body, whose actions are subject to the appeal system.

The Criminal Procedure Law provides for special protection of the privacy of victims of sexual violence, as it prohibits the disclosure or publication of information related to their identity, those circumstances that have been assessed to resolve their protection needs, as well as the obtaining, disseminating or publishing images of you or your family members.

The president of the Observatory, the letter continues, “is confident that measures such as the attribution of knowledge of sexual crime cases to specialized courts with specific training carried out by LO 1/2025 [la misma norma a la que se refiere Bolaños] “provides a substantial improvement in the investigation and resolution of these crimes.”

Asked about the leak and the tone of the interrogations, the vice president and Minister of Labor, Yolanda Díaz, expressed her rejection this Tuesday in Valencia: “For more than 25 years I have been a lawyer specializing in sexist violence and the truth is that what I saw yesterday, I didn’t like it,” he said. “Neither the tones nor the behaviors, and I say this with all due respect to the judiciary, but it seems that they are tones more typical of the past than of a Spanish society that also cries out for more feminism,” she stated, reports Cristina Vazquez.

Reactions on social networks

Several political leaders have also reacted on social networks. “This type of interrogation re-victimizes women and It distances them from denunciation and protection. The judge must evaluate the evidence, not question the victim,” the Minister of Equality, Ana Redondo, criticized this Monday.

“The same ones who do not need training nor are you going to tell them what consent is, ask why you didn’t stop them or if you are filing a complaint out of spite. Let’s see if the problem is not the feminists or the , but the sexist judges against the right to sexual freedom,” reproached the former Minister of Equality Irene Montero. “Only yes means yes means that he is the one who must ensure that there is consent. Demanding express resistance from women, assuming that there is only aggression if there is violence or intimidation, is rape culture and a prejudice of patriarchal justice. “Let’s not take steps back,” he asked. Later, he reproached the Government for “having allowed the judicial offensive against the law only if it is yes.”

“Today everyone will understand why only 8% of women report cases of sexual violence,” the former Sumar Housing spokesperson Alejandra Jacinto published this Monday. On the part of this political formation, both Aina Vidal (Comuns), like Verónica Martínez Barbero, the group’s spokesperson, have charged against the magistrate. “There is no woman who can endure a situation like this,” said Vidal, who described it as “unacceptable” for a man to explain to a woman how she should feel about sexual assault. “The courts,” he insisted, “have to be a safe place.”

Podemos spokesperson, Javier Sánchez Serna, has stressed the importance of judges “receiving gender training.” Meanwhile, Miguel Tellado, spokesperson for the PP, has avoided speaking out and has explained that his party does not make statements about the performance of the judges. Victoria Rosell, the former Government delegate against gender violence, also reacted: “I hope that not only feminists, but also the legal profession, judiciary and prosecutor’s office act in the face of leaks, violations of rights and serious institutional abuse, including screams and constant interruptions to a sexual assault complainant. Let’s not normalize, it is very serious.”

In an interview with Spanish National Radio, the judge of the Courts of Violence against Women in Madrid, María del Carmen Gámiz, explained that as a judge she prefers that the victim testify in a calmer atmosphere and in a more fluid manner, without so much question that cuts off the statement, a situation that can make the complainant feel self-conscious.

The Association of Women Jurists Themis has also expressed its strongest condemnation of the attitude and judicial treatment towards the actress: “The questions asked by the judge represent a serious re-victimization and reinforce the prejudices and gender stereotypes that systemically affect women. women in judicial processes related to sexual violence.” The lawyer for the popular prosecution, Jorge Piedrafita, explained that the judge was incisive and believes that if Mouliaá’s story managed to hold up in the face of uncomfortable questions, it is because it is “consistent,” as he commented on the news.