A prosecutor asked this Monday to aggravate the sentence of the former Argentine president Cristina Fernandez (2007-2015) in a trial for corruption, for which the former vice president had already been sentenced in December 2022 to six years in prison and disqualification from public office.
During the first hearing to review the sentence against Fernández, which she appealed, the prosecutor before the Criminal Cassation Chamber, Mario Villar, asked to add a sentence as head of an illicit association in the trial for irregularities in the concession of road works during the governments of her husband, the late Néstor Kirchner (2003-2007), and her two, so the sentence could increase to 12 years in prison.
In December 2022, the Federal Oral Court 2 had sentenced Cristina Fernández to 6 years in prison and the penalty of perpetual disqualification from holding public office for the crime of fraudulent administration of public funds, but had acquitted her of charges of alleged illicit association. .
For Villar, the first instance penalty “It does not reflect the seriousness of the event, it is not in accordance with the principle of guilt and it encourages officials to commit crimes.”
In this case called ‘Viality’, Irregularities were judged in the concession of 51 public works to firms of businessman Lázaro Báez during the Kirchner and Fernández governments in the southern province of Santa Cruz, the political cradle of Kirchnerism.
Villar also asked that he be condemned as “organizers” of the illicit association to Julio De Vido, Minister of Federal Planning of Argentina between 2003 and 2015; the former Secretary of Public Works, José López; the former head of the National Highway Directorate, Nelson Periotti; and Baez.
The prosecutor requested that he be convicted of the crime of “fraudulent administration” to De Vido; Abel Fatala, former Undersecretary of Public Works of Argentina; and Héctor Garro, former president of the Provincial Road Agency in Santa Cruz.
The court of first instance had acquitted De Vido, Fatala and Garro.
Villar added that the sentence be determined for Carlos Kirchner, cousin of the former president and former head of the Undersecretariat for the Coordination of Federal Public Works, for failure to comply with the duties of a public official, of whom he had been dismissed in the first instance because he considered that this crime had expired. .
The prosecutor also requested that the conviction of the other defendants be confirmed as authors and participants in the aggravated fraudulent administration and the confiscation of the effects of the crime, which consist of a sum of 84,835 million pesos (about US$ 1,000 million today).
Fernández, 70 years old, lost her privileges on December 10, with her departure from the Executive of Alberto Fernández (2019-2023) and can only be detained if the Criminal Cassation Chamber and then the Supreme Court ratify the sentences. However, due to her age, she could suffer house arrest.
Meanwhile, she claims to be the target of judicial and political harassment tying herself to the figure of ‘lawfare’ (legal war).
Source: Gestion
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