Argentina's Milagro Sala to Be Transferred to House Arrest

Argentine Judge Gaston Mercau has ruled that Indigenous leader Milagro Sala will be transferred from jail to house arrest in the town of El Carmen in Jujuy province — a late and partial fulfillment of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights' order, according to Sala's lawyers.

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The governor of Jujuy, Gerardo Morales, tweeted that he disagreed with the decision "to give Milagro Sala the privilege of house arrest in a mansion ...it's a great injustice."

He also shared a picture of what would allegedly be the "mansion," saying "it's shameful that a criminal like Milagro Sala would have the privilege of house arrest in a mansion built with the people's money."

However, the address where Sala is due to be transferred was apparently built as a drug rehabilitation center which was never finished. After construction was stopped, the building was reportedly ransacked, according to several sources.

The house, located in the neighborhood of La Ciénaga, allegedly lacks doors, windows, electric connections and a water supply. 

The transfer decision came after the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights ordered the Argentine government to release Sala from jail, to grant her house arrest or electronic-controlled detention due to the irreparable harm her prison sentence was causing.

Last year, the United Nations demanded that the government release Sala, while the U.N. Working Group on Arbitrary Detention described her incarceration as "arbitrary.”

As head of Argentina's Tupac Amaru neighborhood association, part of the Association of State Workers of Jujuy, Sala won a seat in 2015 in the regional parliament of the Mercosur trade group of South American nations, Parlasur.

She was arrested on Jan.16, 2016, after being accused of "inciting criminal acts" linked to a protest she led against authorities.

The Jujuy provincial government in northern Argentina then broadened the charges, alleging her movement had "embezzled public funds" meant for the construction of housing for low-income people.

Sala has denied any wrongdoing.