More than 20 days deprived of freedom. The crazy arrest of five people for protesting

Fernando Cristian Valiente, Facundo Ezequiel Gómez, David Sica and Roberto María de la Cruz Gómez were prosecuted for the incredible crimes of “Public Intimidation” and “Attack on authority”along with Daniela Calarco Arredondo, who is also being prosecuted for arson and damages. They have been deprived of their freedom for more than 20 days in the federal prison in Ezeiza. Daniela was arrested by a plainclothes male police officer who followed her, and without identification. Now from the prison He denounced extortion by the police and officials to plead guilty. “At times we are desperate because of so much uncertainty, without a real reason for this to happen and, on top of that, in a legal case that has nothing to do with law” said Micaela, sister of Facundo Gómez, to Daniel Satur, interviewed by this media.

The main element is the statements of the police officers who made the accusations. In the rest of the 28 detainees and who Carlos Stornelli (federal prosecutor acting in the case) wanted to keep prisoners There were only statements from police officerswhich are clearly not impartial, but quite the opposite. There are videos that show that the statements in the police reports and summaries were pure inventions.and that the protesters They were arrested randomly in the middle of a hunt led by Patricia Bullrich with the invaluable help of the City Police..

He nefarious The role of prosecutor Carlos Stornelli is to exactly reproduce the bizarre and ridiculous accusations of the Government of Milei, Patricia Bullrich and Adorni, at the level of accusation from the Public Prosecutor’s Office. Los crimes for which he accuses are All the most serious crimes against public orderrange from an attack on the constitutional order, public order, damage, injuries, devastation, arson, attack and resistance to authority, and also seeks to achieve the aggravating factors of the anti-terrorist lawas if they were committed by a criminal organization. All of this, based solely on false statements from police and dubious evidence obtained in a few hours.

28 people were released due to a lack of evidence and the enormous impact of the national and international campaign against these totally arbitrary arrests. Federal Judge Romilda Servini ruled the lack of merit based on the fact that: “the accused were not seized any element compatible with the fact they are accused of – masks, waves, stones, sticks, etc. -”, that “there were no video recordings, nor the testimonies of eyewitnesses”, a situation that he called “probatory orphanhood”.

The lack of merit It means that The judge does not have elements, based on the evidence in the file, to determine that prima facie (in principle) be guilty, But she is not convinced that they are innocent either.. That is, there is no evidence to prosecute or to dismiss. This immediately prevents pretrial detention, or even bringing them to trialbut they all remain at the mercy of this “justice” that can invent new evidence to incriminate and judge them, which is why the fight for the immediate closure of all cases is key.

Stornelli appealed the lack of merit in several cases, Added to the five who remain in prison, they reinforce the need to continue the campaign for freedom and the closure of all cases.

First of all, it is urgent to secure the release of the five who are still in custody, who continue to report being subjected to harassment in prison, and to close all cases.

It is a very strong attack on the right of any person to demonstrate, They want to give a political message. That’s why it was achieved a broad and historic campaign of signatures for the freedom and closure of all cases, with more than 65 thousand signatures that go from Estela de Carlotto and Adolfo Pérez Esquivel, to former judge Baltasar Garzón, former presidents Rafael Correa and Evo Morales, and artists like Pedro Almodovar and among other renowned figures. And one Very important mobilization in Plaza Mayowhere more than 20 national deputies participated, among others. This defeated the attempt to establish a police state in Argentina, but the government continues to stalk.

Bullrich’s “Protocol” is an attempt to systematically install repression, provocation and injury to protesters in all demonstrations. But The more of us continue to take to the streets, as was the case during the strike on January 24, March 8 and 24, or April 23, showing the massiveness of the demands, that force can put a limit on action. The “Protocol” must be defeated. It is essential to defend the right to demonstrate, especially when it means being able to defend oneself against the government’s attacks on historical rights and destroying them, such as the labor reform that Congress was voting on that day, among many others of the “Ley Bases” and Milei’s overall economic plan. I would like to take this opportunity to call on all of you who are reading this to get involved in this cause for the immediate release of all political prisoners for fighting and the complete closure of criminal cases. I invite you this Tuesday, July 2nd. We will be at the Faculty of Social Sciences of the UBA at 6pm, together with all the human rights organizations to continue with the campaign.