‘Grievous bodily harm’: Argentina’s ex-president accused of beating first lady

Warning: Graphic descriptions.

Buenos Aires, Argentina: Argentine prosecutors accused Alberto Fernández, Argentina’s former president who left office in December, of domestic violence after images showed his partner at the time, the former first lady, with a black eye.

In court documents filed on Wednesday, prosecutors accused Fernández of carrying out “grievous bodily harm” and “coercive threats” against Fabiola Yáñez, his partner, while he was president.

Argentina’s then-president Alberto Fernandez in 2023 in Buenos Aires.Credit: AP

A federal judge will decide whether to indict Fernández on those two charges, which could carry a prison sentence.

Fernández, 65, who was president from 2019 to 2023, has denied the accusations.

Prosecutors said Fernández repeatedly struck Yáñez, 43, and subjected her to psychological abuse while the couple lived in Argentina’s presidential residence.

The former first lady of Argentina, Fabiola Yáñez.Credit: AP

They said it was common for Fernández to slap Yáñez so hard that it left her cheek “burning.” In one instance, prosecutors said, he punched Yáñez in the eye, leaving her with a black eye. Prosecutors accused Fernández of kicking Yáñez in the stomach in August 2021, knowing she could be pregnant.

Yáñez has said that Fernández also controlled her movements and forced her to have an abortion in 2016, when abortion was still illegal in Argentina. The couple were together for more than a decade before splitting recently. They have a child together.

The accusations came to light when investigators found photos of Yáñez with a black eye and a bruised arm on the phone of Fernández’s former secretary.

Investigators were searching the phone as part of a separate investigation into an alleged embezzlement scheme, in which prosecutors are also seeking charges against Fernández.

Former president of Argentina Alberto Fernandez arrives with then-first lady Fabiola Yañez to cast his vote during midterm elections in Buenos Aires in 2021.Credit: Getty Images

After news of the photos leaked in the Argentine press, Yáñez filed a judicial complaint against Fernández and gave an interview to the Argentine news site Infobae detailing her accusations.

Prosecutors will now expand their investigation, including by questioning the presidential doctor and staff at the presidential residence. An Argentine federal judge will then decide whether to indict the former president.

Fernández, who is now forbidden from leaving Argentina and from contacting Yáñez, has not been seen outside his Buenos Aires apartment since the accusations emerged.

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.