After the sentence handed down by the judges of the third section of the Provincial Court of Barcelona following the judicial battle that Marilo Montero launched against himself, Diego Arrabaland against Gustavo Gonzalez for some photographs that they allegedly took in 2015 of the topless presenter while she was enjoying a vacation in Bora Bora with a friend, Arrabal has used her YouTube channel to respond to the eighteen pages of sentence she received this Thursday, February 29 , at first hour of the morning.
In addition, he has also refuted the proven facts that the judge has ruled and for which both photographers have been convicted. Visibly affected, Diego acknowledged: “Today is a sad day for press freedom, for so many professionals in Spain who dedicate themselves to this. The sentence that has been imposed on me today is the greatest aberration, the greatest injustice committed“, he said before briefly reading a sentence “with eighteen pages full of lies” because, he burst out saying: “What I will never be able to understand is that three magistrates of a Provincial Court can affirm so many things without it being proven.”
After emphasizing that he has stopped believing in justice, Arrabal proceeded to read certain paragraphs of the sentence. “I am very struck by the fact that the Magistrate says ‘it is proven that Mrs. Montero always wants to keep her intimate life preserved, that she has never commercialized her image, that such was the intention to keep her destination -Bora Bora-‘ a secret.’ That’s a lie. Nothing is proven. She brought some witnesses who didn’t even remember the things“.
And he continues: “It also says that it is a proven fact that it was a private beach. Let’s see, your honor, how can you say that these facts are proven? The Provincial Court of Barcelona asked the French embassy for the laws of the beaches of Bora Bora, and those laws did not arrive. How can the judge say that the beach is private, when the laws have not arrived?“. Furthermore, he emphasizes: “We did contribute, they gave them to us at the French embassy. And it is signed with a sworn translation where they say that in all French territory there are no private beaches. How can you say that this fact is approved? man please“he protests.
Another proven fact that Arrabal denies is that the photograph was taken with a telephoto lens. “He asked me and I told him that I didn’t know, but it seemed like I didn’t. And here his honor says that they are proven facts. That is also uncertain. It catches my attention that his honor says that.”
Arrabal is also dissatisfied with another statement in the sentence: “I am very struck by the fact that Luis Pliego is truthful when he says that the photos were not published because ‘there were indications of illegality in obtaining them.’ That is also false. It has been more than proven in the trial that Luis Pliego’s modus operandi was to send the photos to Mariló so that she would give him consent to publish them, and that was when she said no. But that Luis Pliego said no because “He realized that they were illicit images…”, he complains. Furthermore, he emphasizes that according to Judge Luis Pliego he rejected the publication of the photos because he considered them unpublishable. “That’s a lie. He sent them to Mariló Montero to see if she would give him his authorization. How can you put this?”he says indignantly.
On the other hand, the photographer also comments: “I am surprised that your honor says that the ladies were on the terrace of their bungalow. That it was a bungalow… May God come and see it. The sentence says: ‘The women were on the terrace of the bungalow they occupied.’ Your honor, how can you know that? That could be a bungalow or a beach bar, as the prosecutor said.“.
Dejected at the sentence, Arrabal comments: “They warned me several years ago: ‘Dieguito, they are coming for you’. It was told to me by a person whom I am very fond of, a relevant person, who everyone knows. And I said: ‘Come for me?’ If I haven’t done anything, I’m not a criminal, I just take photographs. And sometimes I can make mistakes, like everyone, but I haven’t done anything wrong for them to come after me,” and he confesses: “I’ve never made it public, but I have been receiving blows for many years, one after the other. Clubs in different ways, clubs that come from very, very high up. There are too many. I am a person who considers myself strong, although sometimes I fall. But you can’t fight the power. “I don’t know what stick I’ve touched for them to come after me.” Then he adds: “This thing about Mariló is an excuse, this thing is fatter than it apparently looks. And I am not telling a science fiction novel, it is reality. Someday I will tell you everything I have been carrying in my backpack for years. And after telling me that ‘Dieguito, they’re coming for you’, today it makes complete sense. “Those words are more powerful today than ever.”
Finally, in his published video, Diego reads the complete sentence, which according to him is not as some media have reflected: “We must and do condemn Diego and Gustavo as authors, both criminally responsible for a crime of revealing a secret – not for recruitment, he affirms. For each of them, prison of 10 months and a fine of 8 months with a daily fee of six euros, and disqualification from the exercise of the right to passive suffrage for the duration of the sentence and from the exercise of any activity related to the press agency itself for the same period, and to the payment of things in half, including those of the private prosecution.
“Obviously I’m not going to go to prison,” he says, “but they have sentenced us to 10 months in prison. For ten months I cannot take photographs. It is something that makes no sense because we have not taken the photos. Secret revelation? I don’t know what secret. And they sentence me to ten months and on top of that I can’t work. Are you going to feed my family, are you going to pay my mortgage?“he tells the judge.
“This is the biggest attack on press freedom”concludes Arrabal, who comments on his channel: “As my parents used to say: ‘Whoever has a godfather is baptized. I don’t have a godfather, what are we going to do?‘”.
