Jujuy Lawyer Sentenced to Prison for Advising Indigenous Communities and Unions on Constitutional Reform

The Jujuy lawyer who advised indigenous communities, unions and social organizations, reporting on the scope of the reform of the Constitution of Jujuy that promoted the government of Gerardo Morales He was detained last July for about 30 days and yesterday he was sentenced to three and a half years in effective prison, although this condition will only be met if the sentence becomes final.

Furthermore, justice imposed Alberto Nallar a seizure of 7 million pesos and disqualification from practicing his profession after being considered the material author and responsible for the crimes of ““Instigation to commit crimes, Incitement to collective violence and uprising or Mutiny in royal contest”for alleged facts committed between June 17 and July 10, 2023 in the cuts of national routes 66 and 9, within the framework of the fight against the reform of the provincial Constitution.

The verdict was handed down yesterday by a court made up of judges Mario Ramón Puig and Luciano Yapura and judge Ana Carolina Pérez Rojaswithin the framework of a brief trial that took place in the Hearing Room of the Judicial Management Office, and in which the prosecutors participated Diego Funes and Walter Rondón, who requested that the sentence be five years in prison for the lawyer. The provincial State also participated with a complaint, led by lawyers Sebastián Albesa and Juan Manuel Silvawho adhered to the prosecutor’s request.

Nallar himself exercised his defense, accompanied by the lawyer Juan Gabriel Martín and the lawyer Cintia Carolina Abregúthey required outright absolution.

We have to wait five business days to know the reasons for the sentence, but it is already known that Nallar will challenge the sentence, so there is still a long procedural path left before it becomes final, if it were confirmed.

Community leaders remained in Court since the morning to accompany the lawyer who, in the context of resistance to the constitutional reform, toured the protests of indigenous communities explaining the consequences of this modification in the Magna Carta.

After hearing the sentence, Nallar thanked the people who were waiting in the court yard holding signs with the legends “Justice for those who fight”, “Enough of injustice, we are with you Dr. Nallar”, “Demanding justice is not a crime.”

“I am not a slave to anyone,” said the lawyer. “Freedom is the convictions that I carry inside, I am not a slave to Morales, or to Rivarola, or to anyone. I have been a slave to my convictions, which are those that I was able to express.” being with you,” he confirmed before announcing that he will continue fighting for “the freedom of the people.”

The sentence marks a precedent in the attempt to discipline social protest carried out by the Morales government. Within the framework of the protest against the reform, there were repressions in Purmamarca, Humahuaca and in the capital of Jujuy and the contraventional justice system has notified social and union leaders, and members of indigenous communities on whom it imposed million-dollar fines, another way of trying to silence protest.

These events were denounced by the National Human Rights Secretariat, by the National Ministry of Justice and by the National Minister of Labor, Ketty Olmos, and in reports from human rights organizations that reported on institutional violence in Jujuy.

A co-opted Judiciary

“This is confirmation of what I reported in December 2015 that Morales had captured the Judiciary and the prisoners held by the system are the ones who issued the sentence. In other words, they have come to carry out orders,” said Nallar, recalling one of the first complaints he made to Gerardo Morales’ management.

Regarding the embargo that was imposed on him, the lawyer said that at this moment he does not have a salary because “he worked as a prosecutor for the municipality of El Carmen since 2010 and on July 12 (of this year) before they arrested me he called me Mayor Alejandro Torres and tells me that Governor Morales had demanded that I resign from office as the condition for transferring salaries to the municipality and I resigned. “My dignity does not allow me to be in a space where a Morales dependent is my boss,” he assured.

Regarding the prosecution’s evidence, Nallar said: “The only witness they presented are the words of the State Prosecutor (Miguel Rivas)”. “He is the one who reported me, then became the plaintiff and finally ended up being the witness. Imagine the dark process I went through. It was executed by the slaves of the system. Even if they send me to Ushuaia, I will remain free of my conscience because I never submitted to Rivarola or Morales. “I am happy with the town for which I work.”

Lawyer Roberto Alemán, who accompanied Nallar and his family, said he hoped the case would be dismissed. “There is no evidence against him, the file shows that when he showed up, roadblocks were already taking place. There are no eyewitnesses and in the prosecution videos there are many people and none of them were cited,” he commented.

Regarding the appeal, Nallar did not exhibit any hope in the province’s Judiciary. He recalled that “the Court of Cassation of the province was created and appointed by Morales, the Superior Court of Justice responds in a military manner to Morales’ orders. Here I don’t expect to find anything of benefit to me.”, he concluded.

“They judge me for giving legal advice and they want to silence not so much the people but the lawyer,” he expressed about the disqualification to practice law, which implies the suspension of his professional registration. “What the Court does not know is that the profession is not practiced with registration but with knowledge, convictions. Tuition can be covered with the collaboration of other colleagues. They have my license plate available. Just as at some point I gave them my phone number so they could investigate it,” she said.