Former Argentine President Alberto Fernández forced First Lady Fabiola Yáñez to have abortion, says ex-sister-in-law

Tamara Yáñez, the sister of the former Argentine first lady Fabiola Yáñez, disputed former President Alberto Fernández, who has insisted he did not force his ex-wife to have an abortion in 2016.

Yáñez appeared at the Comodoro Py courts in Buenos Aires on Sept. 16 to offer her testimony in the investigation opened by the Prosecutor's Office following an Aug. 6 complaint filed by Fernández's ex-wife for sexual violence.

The sister of the former first lady made the claims in Spain.

She testified electronically from the Argentine Consulate in Madrid where she also visited her mother and the two-year-old son she has with the former president.

Lawyer Mauricio D'Alessandro, who is part of Fabiola's legal team told the legal press corps that the first lady’s sister corroborated that Fernández forced her to have an abortion in 2016.

🇦🇷 | AHORA: La hermana de Fabiola Yáñez, Tamara Yáñez, corroboró a la Fiscalía que el expresidente de Argentina Alberto Fernández la obligó a abortar en 2016. pic.twitter.com/3KkUaaLM9H

— ShinRa News Network (@NewsShinra) September 16, 2024

Tamara's statement makes her the sixth in person subpoenaed by the prosecutor Ramiro González, after journalist Alicia Barrios, who is familiar with the day-to-day life of the presidential couple, also testified.

Other witnesses included Fernández's former secretary, María Cantero, beautician María Florencia Aguirre, the former Quinta de Olivos (presidential residence) administrator Daniel Rodríguez and former presidential doctor Federico Saavedra.

The court is still waiting for Sofía Pacchi, a close friend of Fabiola Yáñez to testify after she rescheduled due to health problems last week, and the former first lady’s mother, Miriam Yáñez Verdugo.

Yáñez, 43, filed a complaint against the former president on Aug. 6, after Argentine authorities conducting an investigation into the former president’s alleged influence peddling found conversations and images on a mobile phone.

The new evidence about the alleged abortion would indicate the possible commission of the crime of “minor injuries in the context of gender violence” against the former partner of the Peronist politician.

Following Yáñez's complaint, the prosecutor charged Fernández with gender violence related crimes and alleged the former president engaged in coercive threats against his former partner.

In his ruling, González stated that Yáñez "suffered a relationship characterized by harassment, psychological harassment and physical attacks in a context of gender and domestic violence.”

These dynamics, the prosecutor alleged were based “on an asymmetric and unequal relationship of power that developed throughout time, which was increased exponentially by the election of Fernández as president" in 2019, and “the exercise of the position” until last December.

Federal judge Julián Ercolini prohibited Fernández from leaving Argentina and ordered him not to approach or contact his ex-wife in any way.