05/03/2020 - 21:13
- Clarín.com
- Politics
In the midst of the controversy over home prisons and the reduction of penalties for those detained by the coronavirus, a prosecutor will present a complaint today before the Supreme Court of the Province to oppose the compulsory exits of the detainees. It is the Buenosairean prosecutor of Cassation Carlos Altuve who had already questioned the ruling of the Cassation judge, Víctor Violini, that allowed the massive house prisons to the prisoners who could be part of the risk group for the pandemic.
Violini, a former K candidate for mayor of La Plata in the last elections, was one of those responsible for setting in motion a mechanism for the release of prisoners by accepting a collective habeas corpus requested by the 18 general defenders of the Province to " provide extraordinary house arrest for prisoners with minor crimes. " Although in fact, rapists, murderers and drug traffickers, among others, also went to their homes.
Altuve's decision comes amid controversy over the exits of prisoners and after a massive cacerolazo across the country, last week, to oppose home prisons. It had been advanced on Sunday by Clarín.
The Cassation prosecutor, who now goes to the Buenosairean Court, had already opposed the compulsory exits of prisoners in the framework of the coronavirus. Altuve had appealed to Violini's decision to enable habeas corpus before the provincial Chamber of Cassation. But chambermaid Ricardo Borinsky rejected the appeal and ordered the lower judges and courts to comply with the release order immediately. Borinsky, 70, has been a member of the Court since its creation in 1998. He is the uncle of Mariano Borinsky, a member of the Federal Court of Cassation. He had previously been a chamber judge in Morón and was promoted in office by former Peronist senator Horacio Román.
"Tomorrow (for today) I will present the brief," Altuve confirmed yesterday to the Télam agency. The prosecutor considered Violini's ruling "of extreme institutional gravity, with an obvious lack of argumentation ". In that ruling of April 17, Violini says that the prisoners who will be able to access this benefit must be over 65 years old, pregnant women, detainees with pre-existing diseases and who are involved in minor crimes, although he does not mention what the crimes to which it refers. In the events, there were judicial decisions that gave domicile to prisoners who had penalties for serious crimes such as rape, drug trafficking and murders, among others.
Once the request is filed today in the Buenos Aires Court, the highest court will have two instances to deal with the prosecutor's complaint. The first is whether or not to admit the appeal, for reasons of legal technique. The second is, if you admit it, what it solves on the underlying question.
Those who know the operation of the highest Buenos Aires court told Clarín that the body would be willing to admit the complaint and then go on the merits.
At this point, one possibility is that the Court decides to endorse the releases but in a much more prudent way. "As things are today, it would be something more like a drip than a waterfall," speculated someone who knows the corridors of the La Plata courts.
It was not the only measure against release and domiciliary for prisoners. On Saturday night, a judge declared "unconstitutional" the agreed No. 5 of the National Chamber of Criminal Cassation of the Federal Capital, which recommended the granting of home prisons in the context of the coronavirus emergency.
The decision was made by Judge Jorge de Santo, who ruled in favor of an amparo filed by the civil association "Usina de Justicia". It did so by establishing that the agreement violates the constitutional principle of independence of the judges.
In his declaration of unconstitutionality, De Santo, of the National Criminal and Correctional Court No. 37, explained that "the independence of the judges must prevail, that is, each judge in each case that is submitted to their discretion" and added that " no generic recommendation can be accepted. "