Friends and collaborators of María Isabel “Chicha” Chorobik de Mariani, one of the founders of Abuelas de Plaza de Mayo, confirmed today that she has not recovered her missing granddaughter, Clara Anahí, as claimed two days ago.
On 24th December, a statement by the Clara Anahí Foundation revealed that Mariani, 92, had been reunited with Clara Anahí after a 39-year search. The story was covered extensively in local media and widely celebrated on social media.
Chicha Mariani (centre), with Juan Ramos Padilla (right) before today’s press conference (Photo @Jramospadilla, via Twitter)
However, Juan Martín Ramos Padilla, a biographer and collaborator in Mariani’s case, announced a day later that DNA tests performed by the National DNA Data Bank showed that the girl who alleged to be Mariani’s granddaughter was not related.
María Elena Wehrli had visited Mariani on the 24th after receiving an affirmative biological match from a private laboratory in Córdoba. However, this result was contradicted by two studies from the National DNA Data Bank, which is the only institution authorised by law to conduct tests to establish a biological match.
“We could confirm the existence of studies from the National DNA Data Bank which reject any family link with the young woman who arrived at her [Mariani’s] house holding a report from a private laboratory in Córdoba,” wrote Ramos Padilla in a press statement yesterday.
He added that the first negative results from the DNA Bank had been given to Wehrli in June – something that she hadn’t revealed to Mariani – and that another test conducted on Friday confirmed the outcome.
Speaking at a press conference today, Ramos Padilla said that there had been a “communications error” at the Clara Anahí Foundation, made by “people who love ‘Chicha’ who got carried away with emotion.”
He added that the incident was being investigated, but refused to comment on the actions of Wehrli, who has not yet spoken to the press.
Ramos Padilla also stated that Mariani was upset by the incident, and that there was concern for her health.
Meanwhile Pablo Parenti, the prosecutor in charge of the Special Unit for cases of Child Kidnapping in the dictatorhip, defended the work of the National DNA Bank, saying that “There was no error at the bank, this was a story that happened outside of the State.”
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