Argentine Supreme Court rules Milagro Sala cannot be held in prison; move to house arrest ordered

[sandensea]

Last edited Wed Aug 15, 2018, 01:14 AM - Edit history (1)

The Argentine Supreme Court ruled unanimously today that social activist Milagro Sala cannot be held in prison, and must be returned to house arrest.

The indigenous rights activist and cooperative leader was unexpectedly transferred to prison on August 7 a week after being found unconscious in the halfway house she's been confined to for nearly a year.

The Supreme Court cited a July 28, 2017, ruling from the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACHR), which had argued Sala's already poor health could worsen should she remain imprisoned.

This is the second such ruling since December 5, when the Court enjoined Jujuy Province Governor Gerardo Morales, a longtime political enemy of Sala’s, to abide by IACHR rulings - which are legally binding in Argentina.

Sala had been acquitted of all criminal charges, filed by Morales appointees, on December 7 - after which new charges were promptly filed, albeit without evidence.

The Sala case

Sala, 54, has been in prison since her arrest on January 16, 2016, for “instigating criminal activity and disorder” after setting up camp in front of the provincial government building protesting a decree defunding her neighborhood association, Tupac Amaru.

Morales is a close ally of the right-wing administration of President Mauricio Macri, whom Amnesty International criticized in its latest annual review for attacks on indigenous peoples, including at least two deaths, and the use of arbitrary detention.

Although she was cleared of the initial charges a few days after the events took place, Sala has remained in custody since. Further accusations of fraud and extortion were brought against her while she was in prison due to the original charges.

Provincial prosecutors have provided no evidence in nearly two years, however, and both the IACHR and the UN consider her two-year detention to be arbitrary. Amnesty International considers Sala a political prisoner.

At: https://translate.google.com/translate?sl=auto&tl=en&js=y&prev=_t&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.eldestapeweb.com%2Fla-corte-ordeno-que-milagro-sala-vuelva-la-prision-domiciliaria-n47776&edit-text=

Argentine political prisoner Milagro Sala

[Judi Lynn]

1. If there were more courageous people to step forward in support of decency, this could not happen.

It seems to be that there are still too many people paralyzed with fear of what real hell the last dictatorship unleashed upon the people of the country once the fascists gained control of the military and the police to serve as their weapon to hold on the population. It's exactly like kidnapping the country, and holding all the country's weapons on them all, daring them to protest.

Sure, it happened before, and after the dictatorship tortured hundreds of thousands, and murdered over 30,000, throwing many of them, often chained together, into the sea, and the river, as a sadistic special terror tactic, fewer and fewer people dared to meet to discuss politics in public, to send letters to the editors, to carry signs, etc. It's a miracle that group of goblins left at all, but as we know, they didn't go far, as they plotted, schemed behind the scenes, and have slithered back.

Milagro Sala, who serves as a symbol worldwide, has been recognized and honored in high places globally, has been treated like trash gleefully by the Governor of Jujuy, and his nasty, sadistic fellow greedy ghoul, the country's current president Macri.

The story is so sad, now, as they openly laugh that they can, apparently, do almost anything with this heroic woman, anything they want, now they control all the government with an iron grip. Only the lowest imitations of human beings would consider behaving this way, but as they do it, everyone is aware that they are also informing the public that this will happen to them if they do anything to buck the system in order to bring help to the suffering impoverished people of the country who need help so desperately, using money the human rots at the top want to keep for themselves, although it belongs to the people who paid into the system throughout their lifetimes.

I remember reading, sandensea, when they "released" Milagro Sala to be able to live in a home for house arrest, the home they allowed her to live in had no doors, no heating or cooling, etc., etc., etc. and it took a major effort from so many people to work together just to make it safe, and minimally livable. Is that how it was, or do I have the facts jumbled?

May somehow this poor, brave woman find comfort in this world without dieing first.

Thank you so much for the update on her status as a prominant, distinguished political prisoner.

Tupac Amaru, Algo está cambiando. - Milagro Sala

Milagro Sala's community documentary, Tupac Amaru, something is changed, with subtitles in English.

[sandensea]

2. You're welcome. And your description was right: it was indeed an abandoned, unfinished structure.

The house was being built by Sala's Tupac Amaru co-op as a drug rehabilitation center, and was almost complete - but was ransacked by Morales' goons shortly after he took office.

As you noted, it no longer had doors, windows, fixtures, electricity, plumbing, or heating - all of which had to be installed by Sala's allies with private donations since Morales refused to refurbish the home.

View of the living room and entry, before the refurbishment.



Following the reurbishment in August 2017, with a 'Welcome, Milagro' sign.

Morales, of course, could have had her taken to her own home - as the courts dictated - but he refused. My guess is that his goons have ransacked that as well, and he doesn't want that to become public knowledge.

As for Sala herself, they'll no doubt keep her confined as long as Morales - and his pal Macrisis - are in power. My guess is that now that they realize that their days in government are numbered, they may decide to make Sala's own days numbered as well. It wouldn't surprise me, anyway.

Thanks as always for your thorough observations, Judi.