Spanish
Buenos Aires, June 17 (EFE).- The Argentine Justice granted this Tuesday the benefit of house arrest to former President Cristina Fernández (2007-2015), sentenced to six years in prison, and canceled her appearance before the court, which means that the Peronist leader is already in prison and that the sentence has come into effect.
Judge Jorge Gorini, in charge of executing the sentence, granted Fernández, 72 years old, the fulfillment of the sentence at his home in the capital neighborhood of Constitución, surrounded by supporters of the former president since last week.
According to the court ruling, house arrest is in effect from this Tuesday and Fernández will not have to appear in person in court, when he was scheduled to do so this Wednesday.
The judge imposed a series of conditions on Fernández, including that he may not leave his home "except in exceptional circumstances of force majeure that he must duly justify".
You must also refrain from adopting behaviors that may disturb the tranquility of the neighborhood or disrupt the "peaceful coexistence" of its inhabitants.
Within 48 hours, Fernández must present to the Justice a list of the people who make up her family group, her police custody, the medical professionals who normally treat her, and the lawyers who represent her, who may access her home without judicial authorization.
The fulfillment of these conditions must be supervised by the Directorate of Control and Assistance of Criminal Execution, which will submit a report to the Justice Department every three months to assess the degree of compliance with the imposed rules.
The judge ordered that Fernández be fitted with an electronic surveillance device. The former president's lawyers had requested that she not be fitted with such a device, considering that escape was not possible and to avoid her being humiliated.
Argentine laws provide for house arrest when, for example, the convicted person is over 70 years old, a benefit that the Justice system may or may not grant. Fernández turned 72 last February.
In 2022, an oral court sentenced Fernández for the crime of fraudulent administration to the detriment of the State in a trial for irregularities in the awarding of road works in the southern Argentine province of Santa Cruz between 2003 and 2015, during her two terms in office and that of her husband and predecessor, the deceased Néstor Kirchner (2003-2007).
She was sentenced to six years in prison and permanent disqualification from holding public office.
On June 10th, the Supreme Court upheld that ruling and the former president's defense requested the benefit of house arrest.
When formulating that request, in addition to pointing out Fernández's age, her defense also pointed to her status as a former head of state and the background of the attempted assassination she suffered on September 1, 2022.
The Prosecution expressed in a statement released this Tuesday its rejection of the granting of house arrest, arguing that "the humanitarian reasons" that would justify such a decision are not apparent.
