Hours before the verdict is announced in the trial against her ex-husband, Claudio Contardi, Julieta Prandi broke her silence on the show A la tarde (América TV) and shared the emotional burden she faces in this final stage of a legal process that has lasted five years.
In a conversation with Karina Mazzocco and the panel, the host described the impact of the key hearing held this Monday, in which she testified before the judges about the events she experienced.
"To think that I spent five years waiting for this moment and that I went through all the courts, interviews, expert assessments, and sessions to get here... and finally, to have the judges face to face to tell them what I had lived through, was very hard. Telling it was very hard," she stated.
Claudio Contardi fue pareja de Julieta Prandi por 10 años
Prandi emphasized that this part of the trial is different from other instances that involved division of assets, communication arrangements, or child support: "This time, the horror itself was exposed."
The model explained that reliving her testimony publicly causes her anguish and anxiety, and she requested an exemplary sentence: "I need to hear a conviction and for him to finally be detained, for my own good and for my family's, because anything could happen to us. I can't live like this during the months that the appeals last."
Currently, she has police protection and a panic button, but she asserted that these measures do not restore her peace of mind: "I can't live with a patrol car following me to the supermarket or to my children's school. I need freedom and peace."
Regarding the judicial outcome, she warned: "The least they can guarantee me is house arrest if they don't grant pretrial detention, but that he can't leave his house. Otherwise, the one who won't be able to leave her house will be me."
She also recalled an episode of anguish she experienced the Friday after her last testimony: "That day I broke down and cried from deep within, with screams and pain. It was horrifying but liberating, like a release after years of being silenced."
Prandi insisted on the need to put an end to this stage: "The only thing I need is to close it. To hear the sentence and be able to go out on the street without looking everywhere."
She also reflected on the toll the judicial system takes on victims of gender-based violence: "Nothing is restorative. Not even the years I lived as a prisoner in my own home will be returned to me by anyone. I only ask to live what I have left with dignity, in peace, and without fear, something I haven't had since I met this misfortune."
