Berliner Tageblatt - Charges sought against Argentine ex-president Fernandez after battery claims

Yanez, 43, last week filed a complaint accusing Fernandez, 65, of having beaten her during their relationship, which ended after he left office in 2023.

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

Judge Julian Ercolini will make the final decision.

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

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

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

After initially deciding not to press charges, Yanez later contacted the investigating judge "and told him, 'I want to file a criminal complaint. I want to denounce him (Fernandez) for the blows I received from him and the threats I have been suffering'," Fioribello said.

Fernandez, who denies the accusations, has been forbidden from leaving the country amid the probe.

K.Brown--BTB