Sexist violence: they condemn for the first time a military leader for mistreating a subordinate

A member of the Mountain Infantry Regiment of Mendoza was sentenced to one year suspended sentence and six months of special prohibition for holding positions for mistreating a subordinate in a context of gender-based violence.

In addition to his conviction, the magistrate forced him to attend a training course on gender issues. For the first time, a conviction was pronounced for the conduct referred to in Article 249 bis of the Penal Code, incorporated in 2008 after the repeal of the Code of Military Justice.

The decision was made by Judge Walter Bento, head of the Federal Court No. 1 in Mendoza, who decided to sentence R.D.S, chief military superior, according to Telam.

Abuse of power

The convict was the direct leader of the victim, identified with the letter "P", to which he addressed "a series of cries, harbadment, abuse and badual comments, always in a context of abuse of the power and before the subordinates of the woman, "badured the magistrate in his decision.

Representatives of the Public Prosecutor's Office (MPF), the prosecutor Fernando Alcaraz and the head of the Special Unit for Violence against Women (UFEM), Mariela Labozzetta, requested that the episodes of harbadment and ill-treatment developed in a military institution general context of gender violence.

In addition, they emphasized "the structural inequality between men and women, compounded by the hierarchical relationship of the aggressor".

In this order of ideas, they emphasized that the behavior of the defendant "was particularly serious because it belonged to an institution of the Argentine state, required to ensure that all international requirements relating to fundamental rights women are respected. "

"This has not only harmed the victim in particular, but also the proper functioning of state institutions," said Alcaraz and Labozzetta.

The criminal procedure started with the victim's complaint and the investigation was entrusted to the prosecutor's office, who requested the investigation and then prosecuted the accused, a soldier "with a long history in force", according to the website of the MPF.

The testimony of the woman was received during the oral debate "with special care" to avoid any revictimization and one of the statements was taken from the base of Argentina, through the system video called WhatsApp, the only way available.

The first conviction

Thus, for the first time, a conviction was pronounced for the conduct referred to in Article 249 bis of the Penal Code, incorporated in 2008 after the repeal of the Code of Military Justice.

This article "complies with Law 26,485 of Comprehensive Protection to Prevent, Punish and Eliminate Violence against Women in the Areas in which they Develop Interpersonal Relations and the Belem do Pará Convention", explained the MPF.

Article 249 bis states that "a soldier who, in the performance of his duties and under the authority of the latter, arbitrarily undermines or abuses a lower limb, is punished with imprisonment from six months to two years if it does not result in a more serious crime ".