Higui's lawyer, Hermida Leyenda, participated in a hearing to present the grounds for her request for extraordinary release before the San Martín Court of Appeals. While the case is making headlines around the world, Carolina Abregú, one of the first to publicize it, says: "Among the organizations, despite our differing viewpoints, each one is pushing for Higui's release and acquittal as soon as possible." A day after her 43rd birthday, Eva Analía Higui de Jesús is once again hopeful about the possibility of awaiting trial while free. Today, her lawyer, Hermida Leyenda, held a hearing before the San Martín Court of Appeals to present the grounds for the extraordinary release request that was denied in May. Higui's family was not allowed to attend.

#SanMartín We were with Higui and her family at the San Martín Courthouse.#FreeHiguiNow. We all got Higui free! pic.twitter.com/mReeo7aCBS

— Women NE Bs.As (@MujeresNE_BsAs) June 8, 2017

“It was a technical hearing in Courtroom 1 of the Court of Appeals, where the judge asked me questions about Higui. For example, how I learned that Higui was in jail,” Hermida Leyenda, the lawyer handling the case, told Presentes. “I told him it was through one of the women at the police station where she was detained. She was horrified to see the condition she was in when she arrived, badly beaten, and she took action to put her in contact with a lawyer.” Higui has been in jail for 235 days (since October 16) for defending herself against a group of men who tried to rape her while yelling, “I’m going to make you feel like a woman, you whore, you lesbian,” in a house in the Mariló neighborhood of Bellavista, San Miguel (Buenos Aires province). In the struggle, Higui fatally wounded one of them and was charged with “simple homicide.” [READ MORE: She was attacked for being a lesbian and is in jail for homicide]

"I have faith that he will be free soon."

“I’m quite distressed because I thought Higui would already be free by now. But despite our differences with her lawyer, I still have faith that she’ll be free soon,” Carolina Abregú, the first to join the call for justice for Higui, told Presentes. She initially did so through the Malvinas Argentinas Gender Advocacy Office and later through the Furia Feminista (Feminist Fury) group. Abregú told Presentes today: “The transfer to the Magdalena prison upset me greatly, but I haven’t lost hope. Even though we have different perspectives among the organizations, each one is working from its own position to ensure Higui’s release and acquittal as soon as possible.” At today’s hearing, the appeals court judge asked the lawyer why she is acting as Higui’s guarantor. “I’m the one who guarantees that if she is released, she won’t obstruct justice or flee,” Leyenda explained. This morning, Higui's family and the coalition of organizations demanding her release and acquittal demonstrated in front of the Court of Appeals. Yesterday, Higui was transferred from the Magdalena prison (where she has been since last week) to the Forensic Advisory Office, also in San Martín, for a psychiatric evaluation. The defense expert was Dr. Enrique Stola. This week, Higui's story reached international media. BBC and the El País newspaper They published notes about her: «Who is Eva Analía De Jesús, Higui, the Argentinian woman imprisoned "for killing the man who was going to rape her"?"and why does René Higuita support her?" and "Argentina mobilizes for Higui, a lesbian imprisoned for killing the man who tried to rape her«.  

Many foreign correspondents are covering Higui's case. Not so the most influential Argentine press. https://t.co/fvC2yEsBIT

— cecilia gonzalez (@ceciazul) June 8, 2017

Who is Eva Analía Dejesús, the Argentinian woman imprisoned "for killing the man who was going to rape her," and why does Higuita support her? https://t.co/bZtGe1hnBN pic.twitter.com/HbuE9JFOWq

— BBC Mundo (@bbcmundo) June 8, 2017

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