Marta Montero and Guillermo Pérez at the doors of the Courts | Photo 0223

This Tuesday the Oral Criminal Court 2 of Mar del Plata began the second oral and public trial for the femicide of the 16-year-old girl Lucia Perezcommitted in 2016. For the brutal crime they will be tried again John Paul Offidani 47 years old and matias farias of 29.

Despite the heavy rain, before the opening of the second trial, it was held in front of the Courts of the Judicial Department of Mar del Plata (Amirante Brown 2046). a major concentration of relatives of victims of femicide from various regions of the country, human rights organizations, women’s, social and political groups in support of the family and demanding justice for Lucia.

Lucia Perez
Lucia Perez

At the intersection of Falucho and Tucumán streets, a stage was erected from which Lucía’s mother spoke, Marta MonteroPope, William Perez and the brother Matias Perez Montero. They did it within the framework of an important operation of the Buenos Aires Police who was stationed nearby. In turn, the Court ordered a very small capacity inside the room y a perimeter fence, limiting the possibility of assistance for many of the people who were present. That was publicly denounced by Lucía’s family.

In front of the protesters, Marta Montero maintained that they are already “2,308 days that Lucía has no justice. Who killed Lucia? That’s what we came to ask. We expect a look that she did not have: neither gender nor humanitarian ”. In addition, the mother suggested that this “It is an oral and public trial, I ask that the families be allowed to enter. There are families from La Plata and Buenos Aires who have come to accompany us to be at the trial because it is going to be their turn at some point and they want to see what it is like. There is Iara Rueda’s mother who comes from Jujuy and she cannot enter because there are only five places. They have to be all women who want to be “.

Relatives of victims in the act of solidarity with the family of Lucía Pérez |  Photo Focus Red
Relatives of victims in the act of solidarity with the family of Lucía Pérez | Photo Focus Red

On the first day of the trial, in charge of the judges Gustavo Fissore, Alexis Simaz y Roberto Falcone, the parties presented their initial arguments, with the guidelines of their positions. will follow the declaration of 49 witnesses. It is worth noting that the two defendants were allowed to be absent and participate remotely, via videoconference. They will only be required to attend on the opening and closing dates.

The prosecutor Leandro Arevaloholder of the UFI 7 intervening in this trial, raised the charges against the defendants for the crimes of “sexual abuse, with aggravated carnal access resulting in death” and pointed to convictions for sexual abuse and femicide. The accusation was accompanied by the lawyers of Lucía’s family, veronica heredia y Maria Florence Piermariniadvised by the forensic doctor and expert specialized in this type of crime Virginia Creamer.

For his part, the lawyer Caesar Sivodefender of Offidani together with his colleague Romina Merinomaintained that “Justice is not plebiscitary and is not resolved in the streets”, thus denying that this second trial is the product, precisely, of the struggle and mobilization, a conquest to obtain justice that sets an important precedent. The defense of Farías, in charge of the official lawyer Laura Solaribriefly announced that in the debate he will “discuss the materiality” of the facts indicated by the Prosecutor’s Office, which coincided with Dr. Sivo’s statement.

Juan Pablo Offidani and Matías Farías during the first trial in 2018
Juan Pablo Offidani and Matías Farías during the first trial in 2018

the cry of “Not one less!” It continues to be valid, as was demonstrated outside the Court by the families who were victims of femicide who told the stories of their daughters. Only with the organization from below a right as basic as life can be won, with the perspective of ending all the oppression and violence intrinsic to this macho and patriarchal system.

The Left Daily will cover all instances of this second oral and public trial, accompanying the family in their demand for truth and justice by Lucia. The hearings will take place over the next three weeks and it is estimated that there will be a sentence for March 1.


Source: www.laizquierdadiario.com



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