The former president of Argentina, Cristina Kirchner, will take her case, in which she was sentenced to six years in prison for misappropriation in the contracting of public works, to the Human Rights Committee of the United Nations (UN). Serving a sentence under house arrest since 2025, Kirchner maintains that he is innocent and a victim of judicial arbitrariness.
The former president’s defense spoke about the case this Wednesday (29). The presentation before the UN is justified by the fact that “there is direct access to the Committee and any citizen whose rights have been violated can appeal directly to it”. The procedure, according to lawyers, is simpler than that required by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, which provides for a preliminary stage through committees.
In actions before international organizations, Cristina Kirchner is represented by Brazilian lawyer Rafael Valim, in partnership with Spanish lawyer Javier Borrego (former judge of the European Court of Human Rights) and Argentinean Carlos Beraldi, an employee at the Ministry of Justice during the Néstor Kirchner government.
The former president’s defense recalled that the UN Committee’s decisions are binding, forming part of “the Argentine State’s commitment to the United Nations”. “The Committee’s decision is a decision that must be respected by the Argentine State. The Committee can order the Argentine State to review its decisions, recognize human rights violations and comply with the precautionary measures we request,” he said. Valim classified the conviction made by the Argentine judiciary as a “scandal”.
Also this Wednesday (29), the former president herself took to social media and published a letter denouncing that the conviction has served to keep her away from politics. “Perpetual proscription is, in reality, the main penalty. They want to prevent part of the Argentine people from being able to freely choose the project that represents their hopes again”, said Kirchner, in reference to the fact that the justice system in the neighboring country sentenced her to perpetual ineligibility.
The procedures of the process
The former president of Argentina was convicted in a judicial process that became known as the “Vialidad case”. The processing originated from an investigation into the awarding of public works in the province of Santa Cruz during the governments of Néstor and Cristina Kirchner.
The first instance sentence was handed down in December 2022 and confirmed by the Federal Chamber of Criminal Cassation in November 2024. In June 2025, the three judges of the Supreme Court of Justice of the Argentine Nation – Horacio Rosatti, Ricardo Lorenzetti and Carlos Rosenkrantz – ratified the conviction. The decision was taken just eight days after Cristina Kirchner made public her intention to run for the position of provincial deputy of Buenos Aires in last year’s elections. In the Argentine Judiciary, all avenues of appeal are exhausted.
In the demand to the UN Committee, the defense presents at least eight violations of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, referring to the following rights: 1) to vote and be elected; 2) a fair trial; 3) to a competent, independent and impartial court; 4) the presumption of innocence; 5) adequate time and means to prepare the defense; 6) review of the sentence by a higher court; 7) the prohibition of trying or condemning a person twice for the same acts; 8) and an effective appeal.
With the demand, the defense asked for provisional measures, such as the suspension of perpetual ineligibility, the restoration of the legal integration of the Argentine Supreme Court (whose composition was not complete at the time of the trial), and the modification of the house arrest regime.
In an interview this Wednesday (20), Valim, who was also part of the defense of President Lula (PT) during the time of Operation Lava Jato, recalled that, at the time, he presented an appeal similar to Cristina’s, also to the same UN Committee. But the similarities are relative.
“The Committee condemned the Brazilian State after the case was filed in Brazil,” said Rafael Valim, highlighting the exhaustion of resources in Argentina. “In both cases, it is possible to identify serious violations of human rights. It is important to distinguish between two decisions: precautionary measures, which can be issued in a few months, and the final decision, which can take several years”, explained the lawyer. The defense expects the UN Committee to focus on the action at the next collegiate meeting, scheduled for October.
Source: www.brasildefato.com.br
