The thirteen suspects in the case investigating the disappearance of Marita Verón were cleared of all charges by a Tucumán court. Verón was kidnapped ten years ago by a prostitution ring.
The reading of the sentence began after 9 pm, four hours later than originally expected. After alleged discussions between the judges Alberto Piedrabuena, Emilio Herrera Molina and Eduardo Romero Lascano, the court decided to clear the suspects of all charges.
The decision caused an outrage among family members, human rights organizations and victims of human trafficking, who began insulting the judges as soon as the reading of the ruling was finished.
Attorneys who worked alongside Verón’s mother, Susana Trimarco, called the ruling “an act of corruption”.
The trial began 11 months ago and more than a decade after Marita’s disappearance.
The case was seen as “emblematic”, since the prosecutor had requested a 25 years sentence for the main suspects Víctor Romero, María Jesús Rivero, Irma Lidia Medina, Gonzalo and José “Chenga” Gómez.
According to the accusations made by the prosecutor, Verón was kidnapped by a prostitution ring located in the Tucumán capital on April 3, 2002, when she was only 23 years old.
Her whereabouts remain unknown.
Source: buenos AIres Herald