“It is very difficult to endure this media lynching”

“They have used me as a stick figure to put me on the bonfire”. With these words Judge Adolfo Carretero defended his interrogation of Elisa Mouliaá. He did it this Friday in Public Mirror, in an interview in which he responded, with obvious anger, to Susanna Griso. For days now, the name of the head of the Investigative Court Number 47 in Madrid has been making headlines for the harsh tone he used to interrogate the complainant of Íñigo Errejón, investigated for alleged sexual assault, on Thursday, January 16. The magistrate assures that he used the same style during the session that he uses in the rest of the cases, and recalled that the dissemination of the interrogation is a crime for revealing secrets. He has asked the Prosecutor’s Office to investigate it, as he has suspicions of who could have leaked it. “I’m very sorry that anyone felt offended,” he insisted in his conversation.

The presenter has rescued one of the adjectives that are used these days to define the judge’s tone: “Testosteronic”. The interview had barely begun and Carretero used the same accelerated pace that he used in his interrogation of Mouliaá. “I don’t know what you are calling testosterone. My tone of voice is high, as you can see. I limited myself to asking the victim about the issues she raised in her own complaint,” he continued, emphasizing that in this type of sessions “we do not “It’s about being empathetic or not, because the complainant has to answer what is asked regarding the complaint.” In his words, complainants must go through “the extremes of their complaint.” “The three requirements that are demanded are, the first, the permanence of the accusation; the second, that there is credibility; and the third, the absence of spurious motives. That is that there is a spurious motive – a lie motivated by , among other reasons, reasons of revenge – to file the complaint”.

He maintains that the tone of the interrogation was appropriate

The judge has pointed out that he is not only dedicated to “hearing” the parties to the complaint: “I must also investigate, counter, see the contradictions. I want the entire complaint to be ratified.”. Then I go line by line breaking it down. That’s what I did that day,” he expressed. And, regarding this, he stressed that The words he used during the interrogation and for which he has been criticized so much – “ass” and “tits” – “are those used in the complaint itself”. “We’re talking about that. If the terms are harsh, that’s what it is.” However, he acknowledged that if he knew that “all of Spain” was going to witness the interrogation, he would have softened his tone. “If I found out, maybe I would have tried to lower my tone a little, or I would have asked the questions not in such a hurry. But they would have been the same, they couldn’t have been different,” he said.

“I’m not sexist at all”

To Griso’s question about whether he considers himself a sexist person, the magistrate responded: “I do not consider myself sexist at all. Sexist for asking questions about a sexual crime? In life I have disrespected a woman. (…) Regarding a complaint of sexual assault, sexual issues are discussed. And if we talk about sexual issues we talk about consent, touching…” Regarding the lack of training in gender matters that was attributed to the magistrate this week, he was clear: “If we lack training, let them give it to us.” . “There is something called the presumption of innocence. Men and women are equal before the Constitution”.

Cristina Fallarás, a criminal offense and a media lynching

“It is very difficult to endure this media lynching. (…) My honor and that of my family has been violated. My family has prestige,” Carretero lamented. “Look, what I cannot be is the object of criticism. What you cannot do is read some articles in which it is said that the judge sucks breasts,” he criticized, in reference to the opinion article Cristina Fallarás published after circulating the interrogation. “I have heard and read that I am a sadist,” He added, insisting that “the most affected person” in this controversy is him. “Elisa Mouliaá was affected by what was happening, which is an ordeal.”

“After 24 hours, the entire video is leaked. This is an infraction that is punishable by penalties of up to 60,000 euros.”. (…) I have suspicions about who leaked it, but I have no proof. If I had them I would go to a court on duty. dAnd in any case that you know that I have urged the prosecutor’s office to investigate this matter, it will be investigated,” Carretero stated by telephone. From the set, lawyer Beatriz de Vicente, sitting next to Griso, has supported his words and has remembered that “he is a very respected judge” in Madrid. For the lawyer, his way of proceeding with Mouliaá was appropriate.