Secretary for Human Rights, Horacio Pietragalla Cortifiled this Monday morning a criminal complaint for the “crime of instigation of violence” against Román Gutiérrezagricultural producer and former candidate for councilor of Pergamino, who published a message and video publicly inciting “shoot“to the Vice President of the Nation, Cristina Fernandez de Kirchnerand his followers.
The complaint fell to the Federal Court No. 7 in charge of Sebastian Casanellor, informed the Secretary of Human Rights through a statement.
In addition, late this Monday afternoon Pietragalla Corti added another complaint against William Cuetoa alleged former CIA agentwho in a radio interview conducted this Monday morning on Radio Miter made statements punishable by the Anti-Discrimination Law and that would constitute the crime of apology.
In the case of Román Gutiérrez, the complaint was based on a video that the accused posted on his Twitter account on August 30, 2022, where he states: “There you have the black planeros sons of a thousand bitches defending her to the face of dick the conchuda daughter of a thousand whores, we have to shoot her and all these sons of a thousand whores toon… there are four assholes, they’re all going to die.”
These expressions were made by Gutiérrez while filming a demonstration in support of the Vice President of the Nation.
What does the complaint say?
In that criminal complaint, the Human Rights Secretariat warned that “this type of expression is prohibited” by article 209 of the Penal Code, which establishes: “Whoever publicly instigates to commit a specific crime against a person or institution, will be punished, for the sole instigation, with imprisonment from two to six years, depending on the seriousness of the crime and the other circumstances established in article 41.”
Although Gutiérrez’s public desire was made explicit prior to the attempted assassination of which he was the victim Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner on September 1, and there is no element to unite both facts, the criminal complaint filed by the Secretariat warned in its statement that it is precisely this type of hate messages those who put the vice president in the place of “hated”, who in this case must be “shot”.
I apologize for uploading a video that was on social networks to everyone who felt offended
– Roman Gutierrez (@gutierrezroman4) August 31, 2022
In addition, the brief maintained, “it cannot be overlooked that these expressions were made on social networks by a public figure, who has served as Alternate Councilor in the Honorable Deliberative Council of Pergamino for Together for Change since December 2021 and is an active promoter of protests against the economic measures of the current government”.
The second complaint
The second criminal complaint filed by the secretary on Monday was against William Cuetowho was introduced in a radio interview conducted this morning by the journalist Edward Feinman on Radio Miter as a “former CIA agent”.
During the dialogue, Cueto referred to the attack suffered by the vice president as a simulated eventtending to have the “appearance of an assassination.”
In effect, the interviewee stated that, according to “his experience”, the attempted assassination carried out would have a “deliberate appearance of an assassination to raise the popularity of Cristina Fernández de Kirchner”, and that it was “a political setup” and not an “act of aggression”.
Cueto’s answers, which did not merit cross-examination or clarification of any kind by the interviewer, show -according to the complaint- a message tending to encourage or stimulate persecution or hatred against Cristina Fernández de Kirchner and the political sector that she represents, which is why these are expressions prohibited by article 3 of the Anti-Discrimination Law.
In addition, the text refers that Cueto’s statements also configure a message of defense of the crime, conduct that is punished by article 213 of the Penal Code.
The apologetic message, according to the criminal complaint, “is configured by the deliberate intention of generating confusion in society regarding the criminal act investigated by the federal justice system, subtracting gravity and even denying its existence. By denying the existence of the attempted assassination, installing the idea of a deliberate political montage, it is intended to justify the commission of the criminal act perpetrated.”
The complaints filed by Pietragalla Corti make it clear that, although the Human Rights Secretariat is not unaware that these criminal types may conflict with the right to freedom of expression –which requires being extremely rigorous in their application–, it is their “institutional duty” to formulate these criminal complaints against hate speech that is not protected by freedom of expression and that threatens the democracy of our country.
