On Thursday, July 11, Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR)dependent on the Organization of American States (OAS)will hold a virtual hearing to hear the multiple complaints made from Argentina regarding the repression and criminalization of social protest and freedom of expression carried out since December by the government of Javier Milei and his Minister of Security Patricia Bullrich.
The hearing was called by the IACHR based on repeated complaints made by human rights organizations and Argentine unions, arising since the beginning of the year but accentuated in recent days after the repressive and judicial escalation against protesters who marched to Congress to repudiate the approval of the regressive Base Law.
The hearings called by the IACHR They are not “binding”, that is, they have no direct impact on the actions of the observed States. But they are international bodies that are worth their political weight. They may even progress to becoming cases treated by the Inter-American Court of Human Rightswhich can rule against States with sentences and exhortations.
In February there was a first presentation before the IACHR, after the Government carried out a very violent repression in front of Congress in the framework of protests against the first treatment of the Bases Law project. In a joint complaint, the Center for Legal and Social Studies (CELS) and the Center of Professionals for Human Rights (CeProDh)next to Buenos Aires Press Union (Sipreba) and the Association of Graphic Reporters of Argentina (Argra)they alerted the IACHR on the “novel” features of the operations conducted by Bullrichwho injured protesters, journalists and lawyers.
On that occasion, among others, the case of the lawyer of the CeProDH Matías Aufieriadvisor to the deputies of the Left Front who was in the Plaza Congreso monitoring cases of injuries and detentions by the repressive forces and He was attacked by the Federal Police with rubber bulletsone of whose pellets hit his eye causing serious consequences.
The events of last Wednesday, where the Government took new steps in its repressive plan, which included the infiltration of provocateursa manhunt in the surroundings of Congress even more offensive than in the previous mobilizations and the opening of a judicial case in federal jurisdiction with accusations of very serious crimes bordering on “terrorism”, led to a new complaint before the IACHR.
“In this context of very serious restrictions on right to protestto the personal freedom and to the judicial guarantees we made a presentation to Inter-American Commission and to the special rapporteurs of United Nations on the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and association, the right to freedom of opinion and expression and the special rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders to request that national authorities adopt the necessary measures to guarantee the freedom of people detained. Just as we asked the judge Servini de Cubría that controls the arrests and also dictates the freedom of all imprisoned people,” they reported from the CELS about the new complaint made on Friday the 14th.
In mid-April, that organization together with the Argentine Federation of Press Workers (Fatpren)the National Confederation of University Teachers (Conadu) and others had expressly requested a hearing with the IACHR in the face of the evident repressive escalation promoted by the government of Freedom Advances. Finally the hearing was granted for the next July 11.
After the events of last Wednesday, the repudiation of repression and arrests (which included torture) orchestrated by the Executive Branch with the help of the Judicial Branch. In a few days, prominent figures from human rights, politics and culture signed a petition that has already garnered more than 30,000 signatures.
In this context, on this Monday morning a self-call for the de-processing and immediate release of all prisoners on Wednesday. It is at 11:30 at the headquarters of Peace and Justice Service (Serpaj)located at Piedras 730 in the City of Buenos Aires.
