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The lawyers of the Argentine vice president, Cristina Fernández, indicated that they will ask the Justice to classify the attack of which she was a victim as an “attempted femicide”. Meanwhile, Congress condemned the act in the middle of a session that reflected the polarization that the country is experiencing in this regard.
“We are waiting for Cristina to be able to calm down in relation to what has happened to her so that we can request the classification of attempted femicide before the Justice,” said the vice president’s lawyer, Gregorio Dalbón.
According to Fernández’s defense, the act would be an attempted femicide, under the aggravating circumstance of treachery, since a firearm was used. “Cristina was defenseless, since she was 50 centimeters from the weapon,” Dalbón said.
The lawyer said that the man who tried to assassinate the vice president of Argentina would not have acted alone and that the attack could have been planned.
“There is a statement from a friend who will surely be called for questioning because he said: ‘if he hit him with that shot, we would have paid less taxes,'” added Dalbón.
The investigation is just beginning
The Ministry of Security reported that the identity of the person who attempted against the policy corresponds to Andrés Sabag Montiel. According to the authorities, he is a 35-year-old man with Brazilian nationality who has lived in Argentina since he was a child.
Sabag pulled the trigger of his gun twice, less than 50 meters from the former president (2007-2015), without being able to shoot and being immediately captured. The detainee refused to testify before the judge and prosecutor in charge of the case.
Similarly, the Federal Police raided the defendant’s home, located north of Buenos Aires. There, 100 9mm caliber projectiles, a laptop and a cell phone were seized.
?Fernando Andrés Sabag Montiel is the one who tried to assassinate Cristina Kirchner
? Of Brazilian origin, nationalized Argentine, has an address in the Buenos Aires neighborhood of Villa del Parque. pic.twitter.com/lDO2zzrY94– Marcelo Bonelli (@BonelliOK) September 2, 2022
The computer objects seized are now part of the evidence used to investigate whether the attack was planned by Sabag or if there was someone else behind it.
Witnesses say that he was known for showing his tattoos with Nazi references and that he shared publications with hateful messages, in addition to supporting radicalized groups through social networks, where he was known as ‘Salim’.
Congress rejected the attack.
This Saturday, September 3, the Argentine Congress approved a document that expresses “the strongest condemnation and repudiation of the assassination attempt” against one of the most controversial figures in Latin America. The signing of the document generated tensions between deputies of the ruling party and the opposition.
After approving the resolution, the members of the Republican Proposal (PRO) party left the room, assuring that they did not want to debate “a message that is not good for society.” This party is considered center-right and the one with the greatest opposition to the current government.
“We do not want this very serious fact to be used with the aim of generating more divisions, crowding guilty parties and much less becoming a platform to attack political opposition, the judiciary and the media, as unfortunately we have been hearing in recent hours,” declared Cristián Ritondo, legislator and president of the PRO.
Cristina Fernández did not realize the attack
On Friday, September 2, Fernández declared before the officials handling the case that he did not know what was happening when the middle-aged man pointed at his face, according to the Argentine portal Infobae.
The portal also said that when the firearm appeared, the vice president bent down to look for a book that autographed one of the people who held a vigil outside her home.
The former Argentine president is being investigated in several cases of corruption: according to the Prosecutor’s Office of that country, the State would have lost more than 1,000 million dollars due to bad maneuvers during his presidential period.
Precisely, the request of the Prosecutor’s Office for 12 years in prison against the former president and her disqualification from holding public office sharpened the polarization.
The Argentines also repudiated the facts
The attempted assassination of the vice president has generated different reactions among Argentines. On Friday, thousands of people marched in the streets of Buenos Aires on their way to the Plaza de Mayo, at the call of President Alberto Fernández, in “defense of democracy and in solidarity with the vice president.”
After learning about the attack, President Fernández declared Friday as a national holiday to allow Argentines to “express themselves in favor of life” and show their support for the vice president.
“The Argentine people want to live with democracy and in peace and our country has the firm commitment to work every day so that this is achieved,” he added.
The Argentine authorities continue to collect evidence and testimonies to determine if there were political interests behind the attack. Similarly, Justice continues the process against Sabag.
With EFE and local media
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