International

Argentina’s Kirchner slams court as ‘firing squad’

Photo: @CFKArgentina

| By AFP |

Argentina’s Vice President Cristina Kirchner on Tuesday accused the court trying her for alleged corruption of being a “firing squad,” speaking in her final arguments before a verdict is due.

Kirchner, 69, is accused of fraudulently awarding public works contracts in her stronghold in Patagonia during two terms as president, and prosecutors want her jailed for 12 years and banned from politics. However, even if she is convicted, she will not go to prison as long as she enjoys parliamentary immunity as head of the country’s Senate.

“This court has been a true firing squad,” the veteran politician said, accusing prosecutors of having “dedicated themselves to disrespecting and insulting me.”

Kirchner spoke for 20 minutes in a virtual speech broadcast from her Senate office, just days after announcing she would run again as vice president in October elections. She repeated accusations that the prosecution had “invented and misrepresented” facts that she said had been shown to be false.

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“They slandered, lied, and insulted me and our government,” said the divisive leftist, seen as the most powerful figure in Argentine politics.

Kirchner is charged alongide12 others for alleged involvement in the illicit attribution of public works contracts in the southern Santa Cruz province in favor of businessman Lazaro Baez. The period investigated includes Kirchner’s eight years in office, from 2007 to 2015, and the preceding four years when her late husband Nestor Kirchner, who died in 2010, was president.

Earlier in the trial, prosecutor Diego Luciani hit out at what he said was “probably the biggest corruption operation the country has known.” One hearing remains in the trial, on December 6, the same day a verdict is expected, though judges technically have up to 10 days to rule.

Mass daily protests erupted outside Kirchner’s apartment building in the upmarket suburb of Recoleta in late August in response to the prosecutor’s sentencing request. During one of these protests on September 1, a man shoved a revolver in her face and pulled the trigger — but the gun did not fire. Four people have been charged with involvement in the attack.

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Related Topics:Argentina Justicia Kirchner

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“I did nothing illegal. I saw nothing illegal,” Gates said, according to a recording obtained by The Wall Street Journal.

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