Supreme Court judge Eugenio Zaffaroni has condemned a recent wave of lynchings in Argentina, pointing the finger at the media for stoking up fears while insisting that the attacks should be considered nothing less than «premeditated murders».
For the justice, citizen beatings of individuals suspected of criminal activity «are a natural result of a media campaign which is stigmatising terribly adolescents from vulnerable neighbourhoods.»
«They are not attempts at justice, but premeditated murders for which article 80 of the Penal Code establishes a sentence of 30 years to life in prison, in our current text.»
«This is not legitimate self-defence, it is murder, doubly premeditated: due to the malice intended and for the suffering caused,» he added.
Zaffaroni also slammed Renewal Front leader Sergio Massa, who yesterday seemingly tried to justify attacks by placing the blame on an «absent state.»
«[Massa] is a regrettable character politically,» the judge fired, while pouring scorn on the national lawmaker’s recent trip to North America.
«A gentleman that spends March 24 [Remembrance Day] in the United States, goes to speak with Tea Party people, takes photos with the fraud [Rudolph] Giuliani, who is a type of international fraud, he charges for photos and interviews and he still calls himself a Peronist.
«I think that if Perón had to judge him, he would see him as a traitor,» Zaffaroni added, referring to Massa’s meeting with Tea Party congressman Matt Salmon during last month’s trip.
buenosairesherald.com