Argentine public prosecutor demands 12-year prison term for VP Cristina Kirchner for corruption

Argentina's public prosecutor has sought a 12-year prison term for Vice President Cristina Kirchner, and a lifetime ban on her from public offices in response to allegations of corruption during her two terms as president of the country.

The vice president has been charged with fraudulently granting public works contracts during her presidential term, but wouldn’t be imprisoned as she has her parliamentary immunity as an elected senator. But a final decision on this is expected to be announced by the end of the year. She might lose her parliamentary benefits in two instances: either by losing her Senate seat in the upcoming elections, or if the Supreme Court ratifies a guilty verdict.

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President Alberto Fernandez’s office released a public statement after the prosecutor’s plea was made public, denouncing the judicial and media persecution of the vice president.

The statement said, "None of the actions attributed to the ex-president have been proved and the whole accusation is based purely on the function she exercised at that time, which sadly degrades the most basic principles of modern criminal law."

The probe includes Kirchner’s eight years in government, from 2007 to 2015, as well as four years before that, when her husband passed away, who also served as the president of the country in 2010.

Kirchner has long maintained her innocence and accused the prosecutor’s office of political persecution and lawfare. She has recently been under several charges of bribery, money laundering, and speculative damage to the state.

The vice president on Monday tweeted that some of the charges against her had not before been raised and that the prosecution was ‘openly violating’ the principle of defence in court.

Kirchner also stated that she would broadcast her defence on social media on Tuesday, denouncing the process as unfair.

(With inputs from agencies)

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