Photo: Ariel Gutraich/Presentes Archive. Human rights organizations expressed their concern over the decision by prosecutor Ana Medina, head of UFI 1 in La Plata, to grant Leonardo Mendoza release from custody. Mendoza, 25, was arrested and accused of attempting to murder Claudia Vásquez Haro, a trans activist and president of Otrans Argentina . The decision to grant or deny the prosecutor's request now rests with Judge Pablo Reale of Guarantee Court No. 3. Roberto Cipriano, secretary of the Provincial Commission for Memory (CPM), told Presentes that they will file a motion with the court on Tuesday, December 26, requesting effective protection measures for the activist. In recent years, Vásquez Haro has filed several complaints against the security forces and the judiciary. “We are very concerned about the situation and the nature of the incident. Claudia is a very important human rights activist. We assume this is an attack related to her activism. That is what we will convey to the judge,” he said.

"Neglect of the trans and transvestite community"

“The judiciary has once again abandoned working-class communities and the trans and travesti community. They not only experience exclusion from basic rights, but also police and judicial violence, as in this case,” said Jorge Jaunarena, member and co-founder of the Miguel Bru Association. This organization fights against institutional violence and emerged following the disappearance of Miguel Bru, a journalism student at the National University of La Plata, who was murdered at the Ninth Police Station. This same station tops the list of arbitrary arrests and degrading searches of trans and travesti people.  Federico Efron, coordinator of litigation and legal defense at the Center for Legal and Social Studies (CELS), said: “This is a very serious accusation, and in these cases, the victim must be heard, considering that she is a human rights defender.” He referred to reports from the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) indicating that when the life of a human rights activist is at risk, protection measures must be intensified.

[READ MORE: Persecution of transvestites and trans people denounced before the UN]]

A sign of impunity for the entire group

From the Federal Trans and Travesti Network, which brings together organizations from across the country, activists asked the judge to increase security measures for Vasquez Haro. “The same prosecutor who should be seeking a conviction is endangering her physical safety by endorsing the release of the only defendant whose authority is not in question,” they stated in a written statement. “Releasing the defendant violates Claudia’s rights and guarantees, revictimizing her and sending a message of impunity to the entire community, which amounts to a denial of justice.” The case concerning the attack on Vázquez Haro was classified as attempted aggravated homicide motivated by hatred of gender identity and femicide, under Article 80, sections 4 and 11 of the Penal Code, and carries a sentence of life imprisonment. The prosecutor requested his release after a hearing held last Thursday, where Leonardo Mendoza's defense argued that the accused should await trial while free.

"A sexist and transphobic justice system"

Claudia Vasquez Haro told Presentes: “We are facing a deeply sexist and transphobic justice system that fails to recognize patterns of discrimination rooted in the culture and that it clearly reproduces. Prosecutors and judges do not speak objectively; instead, their rulings are laden with preconceptions and subjectivities. They see the world through blinders.” 

The attack on the activist

Vasquez Haro was attacked on the night of Saturday, May 13, 2017. That same day, the activist reported to the authorities that the assailant entered her home in the La Loma neighborhood of La Plata carrying a backpack. He was carrying a knife, empty bottles, and a rolling pin. Vasquez Haro recounted that, believing it was a robbery, she told the assailant to take everything. He responded, "I'm going to kill you." During a struggle, the assailant hit her on the head with a bottle, but the head of Otrans managed to open the front door and escape. She was treated at Gutiérrez Hospital for cuts and bruises on her face and body.   ]]>