Life sentences were handed down Monday against five of eight young Argentinian rugby players for a fatal beating after leaving a nightclub three years ago, a murder which had aroused great emotion in the country.
Three other co-defendants in the group of 21-23-year-old friends were sentenced to 15 years in prison for 'secondary participation' in the murder of 18-year-old student Fernando Baez Sosa, who was beaten and punched and feet by the group, on January 18, 2020 in Villa Gesell, about 400 km south of Buenos Aires.
đź”´ Máximo Thomsen, Enzo Comelli, MatĂas Benicelli, y Ciro y Luciano Pertossi fueron condenados a perpetua.
⚪️ Ayrton Viollaz, Blas Cinalli y Lucas Pertossi, considered partĂcipes secundarios, deberán cumplir 15 años de prisiĂłn.
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— Clarin (@clarincom) February 6, 2023
The court of Dolores, 220 km south of the capital, had been judging the eight for four weeks for doubly aggravated homicide because committed in a meeting and with premeditation.
He found five of the defendants guilty, three others as secondary participants.
A trial that kept the country in suspense
The drama in 2020, concerning young people then 18-20 years old and marked by great violence, had caused great emotion in Argentina, sparking demonstrations in several cities, including Villa Gesell and Buenos Aires.
The trial captured the country's attention and the verdict delivered under heavy security outside the courthouse in Dolores, was followed live by several television channels.
In addition to this media fascination, the "trial of the rugby players", as it is known in Argentina, also sparked debates on several themes such as ordinary violence, the effect of the pack, the alcoholism of young people, the relationship to masculinity.
The debates also questioned latent racism and class racism in Argentina: the victim was the son of Paraguayan immigrants of modest origin, and during the attack, some of the attackers, practicing a sport (rugby) generally associated to the wealthy classes, shouted "Negro de mierda!"
".
