The public trial for the murder of Argentine activist Diana Amancay Sacayán has been scheduled for next week (hearing dates are still to be confirmed), and for months the Justice for Diana Sacayán Commission and other activists have been working on various campaigns to raise public awareness. This week, actors and actresses joined the call for Justice for Diana, as a way to bring the demand to light in different spheres.

Ana María Picchio 

 

Valentina Bassi 

Diana was one of the main driving forces, along with Lohana Berkins and Marlene Wayar, behind the Gender Identity Law—now a model worldwide—and the Trans Employment Quota Law, which is still not fully implemented in the province of Buenos Aires. This could be a landmark trial: the first time the murder of a trans woman is prosecuted as aggravated homicide motivated by gender and hate.

Santiago Magariños 

Furthermore, the prosecution linked the crime to Diana's activism for trans rights. "The circumstances and the manner in which the act was committed suggest that the homicide was motivated by her status as a trans woman and by her position as a member of the Sexual Diversity Program team at Inadi and a driving force in the fight for the rights of transvestite and trans people," the indictment states.  

Luciano Cáceres

The trial comes exactly one year after the case was brought by prosecutor Matías Di Lello and the Specialized Prosecutor's Unit for Violence against Women and Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transvestite, Transgender, Transsexual, and Intersex People (UFEM). In the trial, the Public Prosecutor's Office will be jointly represented by UFEM, headed by Mariela Labozzeta, and by prosecutor Ariel Yapur.  

María Carámbula 

In recent months, two transphobic murders have resulted in convictions in the Argentine justice system: the murder of Vanesa Zabala in Reconquista (Santa Fe), and the murder of Natalia Sandoval in Mendoza. In neither case did the courts include in their rulings the aggravating circumstance of hate based on gender identity. The trial for the transphobic murder of activist Diana Sacayán also seeks to set a precedent in this regard.

Gastón Pauls 

Rodrigo Noya 

“We are in a difficult situation. We come from two court cases where, although a very significant life sentence was achieved in the cases of Vanesa Zabala in Santa Fe and Natalia Sandoval in Mendoza, the aggravating factors of hate and gender were not considered in these crimes. We want the trial of Diana Sacayán to address the structural violence experienced by our sisters and for the perpetrators to be tried for hate crimes and transphobic murders,” said Sasha Sacayán, Diana's brother and coordinator of MAL.

Esteban Prol 

For the past two weekends, the Justice for Diana Sacayán Commission and activists have been meeting to develop political and communication strategies in preparation for the trial. To this end, various committees have been created, and demonstrations will be organized at the different hearings.

Diego Masajnik

Patricia Palmer 

 

Esteban Pérez 

Diego Ramos 

 

Andrea Bonelli 

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