Elisa Mouliaá skips third court date citing work in Dubai

Elisa Mouliaá skips third court date citing work in Dubai

Actress Elisa Mouliaá has once again dodged the judge. Summoned to testify on 15 June as a suspect in a case of alleged slander against Íñigo Errejón, she claims she is "working between Dubai and various areas of the Red Sea" and cannot attend in person. She offers to appear by video call, if coverage allows. The presiding judge, Arturo Zamarriego, has kept the summons in place and warned of the consequences.

Three failed attempts to testify
This is the third time Mouliaá has failed to appear. Months of legal tension have passed since she accused Errejón of sensual assault, a case that was dismissed, and now she is the one under investigation for slander. Her lawyer has gone a step further: threatening to sue the judge for "institutional violence", a move reminiscent of Juana Rivas. Far from backing down, the judge has reiterated the summons with a warning.

The videoconference dilemma
The defence offers to testify by video call, but the judge has not accepted it without conditions. The prosecution argues that if she fails to appear, her arrest could be ordered as soon as she sets foot on Spanish territory. The technical question is whether the judge has the tools to verify that she is really out of the country. Border control systems record departures, but the actress may have left before the summons.

The nature of the work in Dubai
Mouliaá has not specified what her job in the Middle East involves. The vagueness fuels doubts. In a country with highly restrictive labour laws for women, the fact that a feminist activist has settled there to "work" seems paradoxical. There is no independent confirmation of her activity. Some sectors interpret it as a possible strategy to drag out the proceedings or to earn an income while her legal situation is resolved.

The outcome will depend on whether Mouliaá returns to Spain voluntarily or whether the judge activates mechanisms to force her appearance, including the possibility of ordering her arrest as soon as she lands at a Spanish airport. Meanwhile, the narrative of the "victim fleeing the system" clashes with the facts: three failed summonses and a defence that plays the victim card.