Buenos Aires (EFE).- The court granted the former Argentine president Cristina Fernández (2007–2015) house arrest on Tuesday and canceled her court appearance scheduled for Wednesday.
Judge Jorge Gorini allowed the 72-year-old to serve her sentence at home in the Constitución neighborhood where she has been surrounded by supporters since last week.
According to the court ruling, the house arrest is effective from Tuesday, meaning that Fernández will not have to appear in court in person on Wednesday as scheduled.
The judge imposed a series of conditions on Fernández, including that she may not leave her home «except in exceptional situations of force majeure, which she must duly justify.»
She must also refrain from any behavior that could disturb the tranquillity of the neighborhood or alter the «peaceful coexistence» of its inhabitants.
Within 48 hours, Fernández must submit to the court a list of her family members, police custody details, medical professionals who normally treat her, and the lawyers representing her.
These individuals will be granted access to her home without judicial authorization.
The judge ordered Fernández to wear an electronic monitoring device. The former president’s lawyers requested that she not be required to wear the device as she was not in a position to escape and that it would humiliate her.
Under Argentine law, house arrest may be granted to convicted persons over the age of 70 at the discretion of the judiciary. Fernández turned 72 in February 2025.
In 2022, she was convicted of fraudulent administration to the detriment of the state in a court trial concerning irregularities in the awarding of road construction contracts in the southern Argentinian province of Santa Cruz during Fernández’s two terms in office (2003-2015), as well as those of her husband and predecessor, the late Néstor Kirchner, who served from 2003 to 2007.
She was sentenced to six years in prison and disqualified from holding public office for life.
On Jun. 10, the Supreme Court upheld the ruling and the former president’s defense requested house arrest.
In addition to Fernández’s age, her defense also indicated her status as a former head of state and the assassination attempt against her on Sep. 1, 2022.
In a written statement on Tuesday, the prosecutor’s office expressed its rejection of the granted house arrest, stating that the «humanitarian reasons» justifying such a decision were not apparent.
Also on Tuesday, Gregorio Dalbón, one of Cristina Fernández’s lawyers, said that the court’s decision to grant house arrest to the former Argentinian president was a «victory for the people,» but added that it was not enough because she is innocent.
«This is not only a technical-legal victory. Above all, it is a victory for the rallied people, for dignity in the face of hatred, and for a leader who never renounced her convictions, even in adversity,» the lawyer wrote on X. EFE
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