Higui de Jesús was released from prison: "I'm out now!"
The San Martín court granted extraordinary release to Eva Analía "Higui" de Jesús, accused of homicide and imprisoned since October 16 for defending herself against a group of men who tried to rape her because she is a lesbian, fatally wounding one of them. The news was confirmed to Presentes by her sister. "Now we're going for acquittal," said representatives from the Front of Organizations for Higui's Freedom.
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Shortly after midnight, Higui de Jesús was released from the Magdalena prison after the San Martín court granted her extraordinary release. Accused of homicide, she had been imprisoned for almost eight months. Her friends were waiting for her outside. "Now we're going for acquittal," said the Front of Organizations for Higui's Freedom. [NEWS UPDATED June 13, 12:45 am]
Photos: Ariel Gutraich and courtesy of Magalí Medina. Higui de Jesús was released on June 13, after spending almost eight months in prison for defending herself against an attempted corrective rape and fatally wounding one of her attackers. Minutes after midnight, the farewell chants of her fellow inmates could be heard outside the Magdalena prison. After 12:30 am, she crossed the threshold of the prison and shouted, as if there were any doubts: "Girls, it's me, Higui, and I'm out!" “I’m out!” A group of friends was waiting for her.
In the early hours of Monday, June 12, Eva Higui de Jesús left the Magdalena prison for the San Martín courthouse for a crucial hearing. Three judges from the Court of Appeals interviewed her that morning in an office in that building. They wanted to hear her side of the story, and they did so for quite some time. When the meeting ended, and while Higui remained in the courthouse holding cells, a notification was sent out from the 10th floor—where the Court is located—the court granted the request for extraordinary release submitted by her lawyer, Raquel Hermida Leyenda.
After months of mobilizations by lesbian and feminist movements, and after a pivotal week in which the case of Eva Analía “Higui” de Jesús made headlines around the world, the San Martín Court of Appeals granted her extraordinary release. “She is not yet free: we have to wait for the sentence to be final.” “The Deputy Prosecutor’s Office has already been notified,” said her lawyer, Leyenda, thrilled by the news.
While the court’s decision to release her was being reported in the media and on social networks, Higui left the police station to board the prison service transport, which took her back to the Magdalena prison. A statement with details of her release will be issued from that prison at 8:00 p.m. This afternoon, when her mother, Susana Reales, and her siblings arrived at the San Martín courthouse, Higui was no longer there. In the lobby on the ground floor, her mother and Azucena—one of her sisters, the one most involved in the case—embraced the lawyer and the two friends with whom they had visited Higui yesterday at the Magdalena prison, Verónica Corigliano and Magalí Medina. “We had never been to police stations or courthouses before,” said Susana. “This has changed everything for us.” We are very grateful to everyone who mobilized. I hope my daughter can wait calmly for the trial; there's still so much to come."
Higui's mother, Susana, with her children, at the courthouse today. Higui has been imprisoned since October 16, accused of simple homicide: she suffered an attempted corrective rape by members of a gang. In an attempt to defend herself, she fatally wounded one of them. Carolina Abregú, one of the people who helped bring the case to light as soon as she learned of the story, celebrated the news. "We celebrate this achievement. I think it has depended a lot on all the places where the work of many organizations that were out in the streets, spreading the word and providing support, was disseminated. We formed the Justice for Higui Working Group and kept partisan politics separate from these spaces," Abregú said. For her, "without the mobilization of the people, this would have been impossible in the context in which this release occurred."
"Without the lesbian movement, this cause would not have won."
“This is a victory for social pressure, because justice responds to nothing else. But I think the fact that there is a woman on the court must have influenced the decision in some way,” Corigliano told PresentsAnd she recounted that she managed to speak with Higui after the court order: “She’s happy. Yesterday she told us that they’re treating her very well. What she wants most is to go out and dance.” “It’s likely that she’ll be released tomorrow. There’s been a lot of smearing surrounding this case. For me, the important thing is to include corrective rape against lesbians in Article 119 of aggravated sexual abuse,” she told Presents Her lawyer, Hermida Leyenda, added: "Without the lesbian movement, I wouldn't have won this case."
Hermida Leyenda, the lawyer
Vilma Ripoll, leader of the Socialist Workers' Movement (MST), also went to the courthouse as soon as she heard the news. It was Ripoll who contacted lawyer Leyenda after hearing about the case at a women's meeting, when Abregú was the only one handling Higui's story. "Now we're going for her definitive release. But this is a step forward thanks to the mobilization of the women's movement. It's not due to the generosity of any court: it's the same justice system that imprisoned her," Ripoll told Presentes.
Vilma Ripoll
“Thursday was the first time Higui’s case reached the Court of Appeals. What does this mean? It means that before, judges had never opposed what the judge said. Nobody questioned anything. Now, for the first time, the Justice system will review what was done,” he told Presents This morning, Higui's lawyer, Hermida Leyenda, spoke out. Since the end of last year, various organizations have been denouncing irregularities in the case, which now comprises three separate files: the release from custody, the request for house arrest (which is still being processed in parallel), and the case for the act currently classified as "simple homicide." A month ago, the Court of Guarantees No. 6 of San Martín (temporarily under the jurisdiction of Judge Raúl Luchelli Ramos) He rejected the request for release from prison Higui's case was presented by her lawyer, Hermida Leyenda. A week later, the Justice for Higui commission, along with her family, held a national conference to demand her freedom and on June 3, one of the slogans of the #NiUnaMenos march was #FreedomForHigui.
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Threats to the family
Carolina Abregú said that Higui's family has been receiving threats since the very beginning of the events, in various forms. She noted: "The threats have worsened in recent days following the news of Higui's release. While this news is a victory, we have always investigated the aggressors and have pointed out several flaws in the defense strategy. Higui's case is a landmark case; she is a survivor of a horrific crime. But the State, the Justice system, and the prosecutor who mistreated her are not being denounced. These are existing cracks that have widened. On Wednesday, Higui's attackers, relatives of the deceased, are going to hold a march. While we are happy and joyful about this achievement, we are also considering how to address the growing tensions that are beginning to exert pressure.""I will raise their flags as they raised mine."
Hours before the news broke, rumors began to circulate a letter that Higui wrote from the Magdalena prison And her sister, Azucena Díaz, told Presentes: “My sister is very grateful to everyone who supports her from the outside, and especially to Carolina Abregú. She is also grateful to her lawyer and all the organizations that are mobilizing on her behalf.” In the letter, Higui said that she is studying—she is taking a primary school module. She is excited about her freedom, thanks those who have supported her, and says: “I will raise their banners as they raised mine.”[READ MORE: Higui's letter from Magdalena prison]
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