The first day of those convicted of the Báez Sosa case after the conviction 1:40
(CNN Spanish) --
The convictions for the crime of the young Fernando Báez Sosa, who in 2020 was brutally beaten to death at the age of 18, still have a way to go in the Argentine Justice.
Both the Dolores Prosecutor's Office and the complaint and the defense of the eight sentenced persons have already announced that they will appeal - as the appeal is named in this instance - before a higher court so that the verdict of the Oral Criminal Court number 1 of Dolores is reviewed. .
They would be judges of the Court of Cassation of the province of Buenos Aires, the highest criminal court of the jurisdiction and instance prior to the Supreme Court of the province, those in charge of analyzing the approaches of the three parties.
This Monday, the three judges who handled the case against the eight defendants in recent weeks sentenced Máximo Thomsen, Ciro Pertossi, Enzo Comelli, Matías Benicelli and Luciano Pertossi to life imprisonment for "doubly aggravated homicide for the premeditated contest of two or more people and for treachery in an ideal competition for minor injuries". The other three defendants, Ayrton Viollaz, Blas Cinalli and Lucas Pertossi, were sentenced to 15 years in prison as necessary participants. The eight are between 21 and 23 years old.
Five former rugby players are sentenced to life imprisonment for the crime of Fernando Báez Sosa in Argentina;
three others received a sentence of 15 years in prison
In Argentina, the debate among jurists about what life imprisonment is is not settled, since there is no clear delimitation of this penalty in the Code of Criminal Procedure.
Various legislative reforms over the last two decades have hardened the concept of life imprisonment (which previously did not exist in Argentina as such) and in the case of those convicted of the Báez Sosa crime, it implies 50 years in prison.
During the trial, it was determined that Báez Sosa died from beatings received by five of the defendants, all former rugby players, during the early morning of January 18, 2020, at the exit of a nightclub in the town of Villa Gesell, on the coast of the province of Buenos Aires.
According to the autopsy, the young man died of "cranial trauma" as a result of the attack with punches and kicks.
Defendant faints during the reading of the verdict in the Báez Sosa case 1:06
The Prosecutor's Office announced that it will appeal the sentence of the three convicted as necessary participants, since the trial prosecutors had requested life sentences for all.
The complaint, represented by the lawyer of Báez Sosa's parents, Graciela Sosa and Silvio Báez, had also requested a life sentence.
Both parties will appeal the sentence before the Court of Cassation of the province of Buenos Aires, as confirmed to CNN.
The defense lawyer for the eight former rugby players had requested the acquittal of all the defendants or that they be tried for the crime of homicide in a fight, which carries sentences of between two and six years in prison.
This crime, for which Argentine law provides for lesser penalties, implies "having wanted to intervene in the fight or aggression by deploying violence on another, spontaneously and without any determined and joint purpose" of the aggressors.
The defense maintained that there had been no premeditation to hit Báez Sosa.
However, the court determined otherwise, according to the sentence.
The audio of Fernando Báez Sosa that his father treasures: "I have him very close to me when I hear his voice"
The defense also told CNN that it will appeal to the higher court to request a review of the sentences.
The attorney general of Dolores, Diego Escoda, explained to CNN how the process of this case continues before the Justice of the province of Buenos Aires.
“Within seven days from the communication of the sentence, the parties must make a reservation to appeal to the Court of Criminal Cassation of the province of Buenos Aires.
The Prosecutor's Office, in fact, already did it for this case," said the official.
“Then, within 20 days of the ruling, the appeal must be filed before the oral court in the city of Dolores, and thus intervention is given to Casación, the highest criminal court of the province, located in the city of La Silver,” Escoda said.
The Cassation has a peremptory period of six months to resolve the parties' proposals, which can be extended for another six months by reasoned resolution and due to the complexity of the case, added the attorney general of Dolores.
“Our estimation is that in the course of this year, or perhaps before the middle of the year, the Court of Cassation will resolve the issues raised by the parties.
After the Cassation ruling, there remains the instance of extraordinary appeals, that is, the parties have the possibility of resorting to the Supreme Court of the province of Buenos Aires and the Supreme Court of the Nation, in case of disagreement with the Cassation ruling.
Even in this scenario, both the provincial and national Courts can decide not to deal with the case and leave the Cassation judgment final, considering that the entity or seriousness of the issues does not require the intervention of the highest courts”, concluded Escoda.
Argentina Fernando Baez Sosa