Barcelona“I have the feeling that I am being scolded for being democratic, dialectical and civil,” said the activist Vanessa Mendoza this Monday at the exit of the Batllia d’Andorra, after facing the trial. In 2019, the co-president of the Stop Violences association presented a report to the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women in which he defended the decriminalization of abortion in Andorra. The public prosecutor’s office accuses him of “defamation” of the Andorran government and is demanding a six-month ban from holding public office, a fine of 6,000 euros and a further 6,000 euros in civil liability.
The court must decide whether or not the report’s conclusions and Mendoza’s presentation fall under freedom of expression, according to prosecutors. The verdict will not be announced until January 17, but this Monday both the activist and the prosecutor presented their arguments in court. The prosecutor in the case insisted that Mendoza’s claims were untrue because they were not based on real data and that they violated the rights of officials. “Mendoza’s intention was not to inform, but to contempt public servants, social services, institutions and the government,” emphasized the prosecutor during the trial collected by Ara Andorra. He also stressed that the facts to which the activist referred “have not been proven, so they have not occurred, and it is clear that the activist lied and defamed the image of the institution.”
The president of Stop Violences responded that part of the report was based on her experience in handling several cases received by the organization. He has also stated that he “doesn’t have to prove anything” and that this role falls to the state. The activist said that the government of the principality was already aware of the text before its appearance at the United Nations and that it went there with the desire to have a dialogue and bring about a mediation process. In addition, he denied that he wanted to discredit Andorran institutions and that he did not expect that the executive would feel “insulted” or file a complaint against him. Although he admitted that the document contains “powerful” statements – the activist was of the opinion that the Andorran government, among other things, persuades pregnant young women without resources to have their children and give them up for adoption – he insisted that this The aim and goal of the body it represents is “to advance rights”.
The representation of the Andorran government, called as a witness by the prosecution, has highlighted the disrepute that the defendant’s statements have brought to the country and the impact on public social workers who felt slandered. On the contrary, the activist’s defense recalled that the Andorran government had not received any warning at the international level after the report and accused the prosecution of “prioritizing the defense of the government’s interests over the defense of the freedom of individual citizens.” .
persecution
“It is a trial against feminism, women’s rights, fundamental freedoms and of course against abortion,” Mendoza said at the end of the trial, which was followed by more than sixty people, including representatives of organizations such as Amnesty International, who also demonstrated in front of the headquarters of the Andorran court. Mònica Costa, responsible for Amnesty International’s campaigns, considers it “incomprehensible” that Mendoza turned to the UN to share information about the consequences of the abortion ban in the Principality and came out “with a complaint”, as she wrote in it The ACN explained the statements collected. Representatives of the Drets Association of Lawyers and Lawyers were also present to defend “freedom of expression”.
