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On October 2, 2017, Mariana Gómez was assaulted and arrested by Buenos Aires City Police officers while kissing her wife at Constitución Station. In April, she was charged with “aggravated assault” and the case was sent to trial. Only now, more than a year after the incident, has a medical examination been conducted confirming that she did not harm anyone. “This proves it was a lesbophobic attack,” she told Presentes.

“We’ve been waiting for this ruling for a year, which proves that I didn’t cause any of the serious injuries I was charged with. As I’ve been saying from day one, I was only defending myself against a lesbophobic attack by both the police and Metrovías staff,” says Mariana. Despite the positive result of the medical examination, she must now wait for the public trial to prove her innocence: “Of course I’m going for acquittal,” she affirms.

[READ ALSO: #LesbianKisses Mariana Gómez's hearing: why the case should be dismissed]

The trial is scheduled for the first half of 2019. “These are the times of a judiciary increasingly detached from justice,” says lawyer Lisandro Teszkiewicz, Mariana's defense attorney. He asserts that the entire process could have ended immediately if, three days after the arrest, the court had granted his request for a medical examination to “prove that the police officer had not been harmed in any way.”

[READ ALSO: #LesbianKisses Mariana Gómez is prosecuted after being arrested while kissing her wife]

“We have a sexist and lesbophobic police force and judiciary.”

The forensic examination was conducted after two requests from Mariana Gómez's defense, which were rejected by the court. It was carried out by the Forensic Medical Corps of the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation, and the results were released on October 29. "One year and 27 days after Mariana's arbitrary arrest," the lawyer stated. However, he emphasized the significance of the findings: "It was done, and it proves us right: Mariana didn't hurt anyone; she only kissed her wife. The only explanation for this is a structurally sexist and lesbophobic City Police force and Judiciary."

[READ ALSO: Mariana Gómez goes to trial: the judge authorized the search of her house]

According to the police report, which the court validated by indicting and sending Mariana to trial, the woman was smoking in a prohibited area. When Officer Jonathan Rojo approached her to tell her off, she reacted violently and injured Officer Karen Villarreal. “None of his explanations are valid: you can't arrest someone for smoking in a prohibited area, and the expert analysis showed that Mariana did not injure Officer Villarreal. There is no other explanation than that the arbitrary arrest occurred because Officer Jonathan Rojo was bothered by Mariana and Rocío showing affection at the station,” he explains. He concludes: “What remains? That the only thing that bothers them is that Mariana loves Rocío.”