Twenty-two years ago Fayna Bethencourt entered the Big Brother house as a contestant and met Carlos Navarro ‘el Yoyas’. What began as a love story has ended up becoming a nightmare: after a sentence of five years and eight months in prison for habitual mistreatment of his ex-wife, Yoyas continues to search and capture.
In a 20-minute interview, Fayna Bethencourt has decided to open up and share with the public her current battle, marked by uncertainty and fear of reprisals. Expectant, she Bethencourt wants her abuser to be found and justice done: “I have been fighting for four months so that my tormentor is hunted down and ends up in prison.”
Despite wanting to leave this episode behind, Bethencourt appreciates the importance of continuing to make cases of abuse visible, one of the biggest social problems in our country. As a result of her situation, Bethencourt has contacted other women in a similar situation, “desperate because her attackers are free.”
In his statements at 20 minutes, Bethencourt has highlighted the failures in the judicial process: “Mainly, I think that things have not been done well. That my abuser was going to escape was something quite predictable, so the logical thing would have been to put, for example, a telematic bracelet or send him to pretrial detention.
In order to focus on the danger behind his situation, Bethancourt reveals: “Ignorance, doubts, not knowing where you are is difficult to accept. When you have him located at one point or you know he’s in jail, it gives you a little more peace of mind. Right now I am worried that time will pass, the four years that remain for the crime to prescribe and my abuser to be a free man will expire. What do I do if that happens?”
Bethencourt is aware of the psychological consequences of their relationship, and looks to the future with hope: “There is a very important psychological process that has helped me leave fear behind. That doesn’t mean I’m calm, but if it comes from the front I’ll stand up to it, I’m not going to run away or start trembling. If he comes for me, I will face him, reveals the former contestant.
Being a media case, Bethencourt has had to put up with all kinds of comments, which he considers ignorant: “The relationship was public and their behavior was too. That is why I have to put up with the fact that many times they tell me ‘I could see it coming’ as if I were to blame or deserved it for not getting out of that situation on time”. Likewise, he adds: “More pedagogy is needed to understand the victims of abuse.”
With the aim of helping possible victims of abuse, the Canary Islander reviews the signs that should alert the rest: “The victim is isolated, the abuser cuts bridges: he will gradually disappear from his environment, they will away from their own. They cut off your autonomy and freedom. He goes very slowly, gradually. The violence comes later.
Bethencourt is not happy about what he has suffered, since as he confirms after 20 minutes “it has not made me a better person.” However, the author of ‘Cyanide and Chocolate’ is proud of herself for getting her children out of this situation, and she considers herself a happy person: “The only thing I have left is this battle and we will continue fighting for it” .
Carlos Navarro was summoned to the Vilanova del Camí Peace Court for his imprisonment on November 14, and after not showing up, his search and capture was ordered for disobeying what the judicial authority ordered.
The Court of Las Palmas confirmed the sentence of five years and eight months in prison last April 2021. Said sentence ratified that Navarro is guilty of a crime of habitual mistreatment and four of injuries committed against his ex-wife, in the presence of the two children of both, as well as two minor offenses of harassment and threats.
