Harassment and injuries. These are the two crimes for which photojournalist Jordi Martín will sit on the bench at the request of Clara Chía, the romantic partner of former soccer player Gerard Piqué if she maintains the charges for which she reported him to the Mossos d’Esquadra on 10 December. May because of the persecution to which she was subjected.
The judge who took charge of the case has notified the parties of the closure of the investigation and has requested both the complainant and the Prosecutor’s Office to present their indictment documents. The magistrate considers indications of criminality based both on an insistent and continuous persecution that occurred in private areas and on a forensic report that determined the impact it caused on the complainant.
This reiteration and alteration of ordinary life, as well as the suffering caused, were the reasons why the instructor ordered the restraining order for the complainant’s photojournalist, whose three-month period ended last Wednesday. The magistrate refused to extend it given the apparent improvement of the complainant and considering that, after issuing the resolution agreeing to continue the procedure for trial, it is not foreseeable that the accused will resume a practice that has already taken him this far. This is, in fact, the first time that a paparazzo has been tried for these crimes in Spain.
If convicted, Jordi Martín faces penalties ranging from three months to two years in prison in the case of the crime of harassment – ??or, failing that, a fine of 6 to 24 months – and 3 months to 3 years in prison or a fine of 6 to 12 months in the case of the crime of injuries.
Author of the first photos of both the couple and Clara Chía alone that were published in several Spanish and foreign media, the paparazzo bases his defense on freedom of the press and the general interest, although in its legal bases, the notification that they have received by the parties indicates that the complainant has not carried out any activity aimed at having this public profile beyond being a partner of the former soccer player.
Likewise, the investigating judge has pointed out the lack of legitimacy of Martín in invading private areas, such as the wedding of a close friend of Piqué in August of last year, in which he obtained the first snapshots that were published of the couple, or the private parking lot. of the farm where the company Kosmos, owned by Piqué and where Chía works, is domiciled.
The magistrate also refers in his notification of closure of the investigation to the chases that Martín carried out in a vehicle at high speed towards the complainant, which hindered the passage and put her safety at risk, as well as the attitude of the paparazzo, collaborator in several spaces. television programs of the heart, to make public the profiles on the young woman’s social networks, knowing that this would cause numerous hostile interactions towards her due to the romantic relationship she had with Gerard Piqué after her separation from Shakira, of whom the defendant declares himself an admirer. .
Although the former soccer player decided to withdraw from the case, the letter also includes the existence of incidents with Martín during the period of the investigation, alone or in the company of his two children.
