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By LC, from Buenos Aires

On Wednesday, October 10, between 10:30 and 11:00 a.m., as Fernando Albornoz was leaving his home in Buenos Aires to go to work, a kick to the leg, just below the calf, caused him to lose his balance. It was Matías Álvarez, the same neighbor who had assaulted and threatened to kill him in April. While kicking him in the face on the ground, he said, “You fucking faggot, I already warned you to get out of here. You ruined my life,” referring to the legal proceedings he faces for reporting the first attack in April of this year.

Álvarez is being prosecuted for the crime of coercion. The case, as confirmed to Presentes by Criminal and Correctional Court No. 48, has already been requested to proceed to trial. However, Albornoz was not granted protection. “I’m tired. I feel like no one in the justice system is giving me any answers,” says the 35-year-old LGBTI activist.

The attack was again in the Barrio Norte building where he lives. The first one had been in the elevator. Then, Alvarez pushed him and threatened him: “If I see you here again, I’ll kill you,” he said.

I feel like I'm speaking but I have no voice… As if my fear of dying at the hands of the person who is harassing and abusing me has no value, at least until I'm in a coffin…
I'm afraid… And I feel alone and voiceless in this…
All I want is to LIVE https://t.co/zM5h25gIXu

— Fernando Albornoz #WithYou 🦋 (@AlbornozFerOk) October 11, 2018

In the afternoon, when he returned to his apartment, he spoke with the doorman, who had witnessed the attack, and told him that the attacker had returned to the building half an hour after the attack.

[READ ALSO: Brutal homophobic attack on member of the Ciervos Pampas rugby team]

Without protection

The young man, advised by the LGBT Advocacy Office, filed a report at the 19th police station in Buenos Aires. The case for minor injuries was assigned to Criminal and Correctional Court No. 49, presided over by Judge Ángeles Gómez Maiorano. On Thursday morning, the court clerk contacted Fernando to inform him that he had been issued a panic button. However, at the time of this writing, he had not yet received it, as the police station had not been notified of the court order.

[READ ALSO: Homophobic attack in La Plata: “This guy is a faggot, let’s kill him!”]

Preventive measures had already been requested in April: the court at that time ordered police protection that lasted eight days. “They lifted it and nothing came of it,” says Fernando. He adds that, between the two attacks, he is subjected to daily insults by Álvarez.

[READ ALSO: #HateCrimes2017 Dramatic increase in street attacks in Argentina]

“ They won’t do anything until my body turns up in a drawer. It seems like the judicial system likes seeing our bodies violated. I don’t feel as strong as I did last time, when I was able to stand up. I feel like the justice system is leaving me one step away from the worst. We know there are many cases like this that ended very badly,” says Fernando.

[READ ALSO: Another homophobic attack in Buenos Aires: two in 48 hours ]

From the LGBTI Ombudsman's Office, María Rachid, head of the Institute Against Discrimination, told Presentes: “We are very concerned about Fernando's situation. In a situation like this, with such obvious danger, the justice system cannot delay, because it puts people in a completely vulnerable position, endangering their physical safety and lives. We want the judge and the prosecutor to take some action. Fernando is being given no other option but to move.”

According to the report from the National Observatory of LGBT Hate Crimes, a hate crime was reported every three days in Argentina during 2017.