Abelardo de la Espriella would represent Marbelle in the face of complaints of racism for attack against Francia Márquez

Maureen Belky Ramírez Cardona, better known in Colombian entertainment as Marbelle, is facing a difficult moment because of the recent statements she made against Gustavo Petro's vice-presidential formula, Francia Márquez, referring to it as 'King Kong', a fact that many have considered racist.

However, on this occasion the offensive words posted on Twitter by the singer of tecnocarrilera not only brought criticism and bad comments, as commonly happens to the artist who tends to upset spirits on that social network. Marbelle's publication reached legal instances, since in the offices of the Attorney General's Office there are two lawsuits against the artist.

Senator Roy Barreras was the first to file a lawsuit against Marbelle for his racist comment, noting that among the crimes women could face are harassment, insult and aggravated slander. #FranciaNoEstáSola was the hashtag with which Barreras announced her complaint; however, she received the response from the singer, who pointed out that for these legal instances she was not alone either.

Marbelle pointed out that not only does she have the support of God and the country, but she will have the legal advice of Abelardo de la Espriella. Although the lawyer has not confirmed to be the singer's legal representative in the proceedings she will face, she confirmed this on Twitter.

“Neither am I! I am with God, with my country and I have the best Abelardo de la Espriella”, wrote the singer.

The crime for which he could be deprived of his liberty is discrimination on racial grounds. It should be recalled that Law 1482 of 2011 amended the Penal Code and recognized in articles 134B and 134C the offence mentioned above.

The complaint by Roy Barreras, which was filed in the office of Attorney General Francisco Barbosa, reads the senator's analysis of Marbelle's tweet, which was deleted hours after it was published by the wave of expletives that the singer received as a result. This is how Mrs. Ramírez used this character to refer in a disparaging, rude and insulting way to the vice-presidential candidate Francia Márquez Mina.

The Cali politician made a post through his Twitter account to announce the lawsuit he filed against Maureen Belky Ramirez Cardona, the singer's first name. “I have filed this criminal complaint against #Marbelle for violating the anti-racism law and the penal code by insulting and insulting our vice-presidential candidate Francia Márquez. Mrs. Marbelle, did you think you could spit your racism with impunity? #FranciaNoEstáSola,” Barreras wrote on his Twitter account.

The Radical Justice collective did not stand idly by and also went to the Prosecutor's Office to accuse Marbelle of harassment. According to the lawyer, Ali Bantú Ashanti, a claimant for Radical Justice, Marbelle's comment “projects a racist imaginary, thereby hurting the dignity and feelings of people of African descent,” as quoted by the local newspaper El Colombiano.

“These stereotypes are old, typical of that of the history of slavery and everyday racism. Today they are sown in the national collective consciousness and reinforced with this type of behavior that people of African descent are inferior, similar to apes, monkeys or gorillas,” added the complainant.

In the same way, the Observatory on Gender-Based Violence against People of African Descent, VigíaAfro, assured that this type of action could lead to sanctions, because it responds to a cluster of violence not only against the black race but against women.

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