Argentine Supreme Court Confirms Sentence for Milagro Sala

On Thursday, Argentina's Supreme Court ratified the sentence to 13 years in prison for the social leader Milagro Sala, who was previously convicted as the author of crimes related to illicit association, fraud against the public administration, and extortion.

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In 2019, a court in the province of Jujuy sentenced her in the "Pibes Villeros" case, which had to do with the alleged diversion of funds intended for housing construction.

The judges considered that Sala, who is the historical leader of the Tupac Amaru political organization and a Peronist activist, was the head of an illegal association and took part in fraud against public funds.

In June, Argentina's President Alberto Fernandez denounced a "system of persecution" against Sala and visited her while she was hospitalized due to a thrombosis in her leg.

After the meeting, Fernandez demanded that the Indigenous activist be tried "respecting Argentine laws" and without "political pressure" or "persecutory purposes."

"She has endured about five or six oral trials, has another five cases brought to trial, and faces some additional cases, which add up to 17 trials in total. All this testifies that there is a clear and systematic persecution against Milagro Sala," the Argentine president pointed out.

The Indigenous activist was arrested in January 2016, just over a month after the right-wing politician Mauricio Macri assumed the Presidency for the period 2015-2019.

Initially, she was charged with instigating protests against Jujuy Governor Gerardo Morales. Currently, Sala is in house arrest waiting for all the processes against her to be resolved.