Argentina tries those accused of the beating death of a young man

Demonstration to demand justice for the crime of Fernando Báez Sosa, in Buenos Aires, in February 2020.EFE

Three years ago, the beating to death in the street of 18-year-old Fernando Báez Sosa shocked Argentina.

This Monday, the eight defendants for the crime sat on the bench for the first time, accused of doubly aggravated homicide for treachery and participation of two or more people, charges that Argentine law punishes with life imprisonment.

The defendants, between the ages of 21 and 23, are former players of the Náutico Arsenal Zárate rugby club.

The Prosecutor's Office also accuses them of causing minor injuries to friends of Báez Sosa who were with him at dawn on January 18, 2020 and tried to defend him.

“I do not understand, and I will never accept, how boys of Fer's age have done this to him.

They attacked him from behind, they threw him on the floor, they smashed his head...", the victim's mother, Graciela Sosa, told the judges of the Dolores Criminal Court No. 1.

"My son needs justice so that he can rest and we can have a bit of peace in our souls," she told the media shortly before entering the court.

"Skull Injuries"

Fernando Báez Sosa died after receiving a beating in the center of Villa Gesell, a city 400 kilometers south of Buenos Aires that is among the favorites of adolescents in the southern summer.

The autopsy determined that he died of cardiac arrest caused by "multiple head injuries that generated a massive intracranial hemorrhage."

According to the indictment, the eight defendants "agreed to kill" Báez Sosa.

They attacked him from behind to throw him to the ground and there they continued to punch and kick him “even when he was practically unconscious”.

The Public Prosecutor's Office maintains that five of the defendants (Máximo Thomsen, Ciro Pertossi, Enzo Comelli, Matías Benicelli and Blas Cinelli) attacked Báez Sosa and another three (Ayrton Viollaz, Lucas Pertossi and Luciano Pertossi) prevented his friends from defending him.

The beating occurred on the main street of Villa Gesell and was recorded on dozens of home videos and security cameras from businesses in the area.

For weeks, Argentines watched the images showing how Báez Sosa was beaten while he was immobile on the ground and how the attackers wiped the blood from their hands as they passed the police.

Days later, the messages that the rugbiers exchanged on WhatsApp were leaked to the press, rehearsing alibis to avoid jail.

His defense requested today the nullity of the trial, but it was rejected.

"Gentlemen judges, here you are listening to the story of a father who has lost everything: he has lost happiness, the desire to live, to fight, and he lost the best thing of all, which is his son's hug," said Silvino Báez in the beginning of his testimony.

When he went to examine the body of his son, he found it with "a blown head."

“He was dripping blood everywhere.

He couldn't touch it,” he detailed.

His testimony made some of those present cry.

The Báez Sosa crime provoked numerous demonstrations of repudiation throughout the country and opened an intense debate on violence in sport and the youth of Argentina.

The trial will resume this Tuesday with the statement of the friends who accompanied Fernando on the night of the crime and who were beaten by the defendants.

The judges will also hear the testimony of Julieta, the victim's then partner.

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