The transfemicide of Romina Vargas: minutes before the start of the historic trial, it was postponed
This is the first hate crime case against a transgender person to reach the courts in Paraguay. The trial was postponed on the day it was scheduled to begin. With everything ready, the defendant's lawyer claimed a "headache."
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By Juliana Quintana, from Luque (Paraguay)
Photos: Jessie Insfran Pérez
The long-awaited trial for the hate crime against 28-year-old trans woman Romina Vargas was about to begin when it was postponed once again. On Friday, August 9, minutes before the start of the first hearing—the first historic trial in Paraguay for a transfemicide—the president of the Luque Sentencing Court, Julio López, announced the postponement.
Blas Amarilla is accused of the murder of the young trans woman, which took place on October 16, 2017, in the city of San Lorenzo, Greater Asunción. Prosecutor Ana Girala charged him with "intentional homicide," and he has been in pretrial detention ever since. However, the first hearing could not proceed because the defendant's lawyer, Rocío Lucena, a public defender, was absent, presenting a medical certificate indicating 24 hours of rest, citing "migraine and headache."
READ MORE: For the first time, a transfemicide case goes to trial in Paraguay
This document was issued by a private medical center and was not legalized by the Ministry of Public Health (a requirement that applies to all public officials). To verify the information presented by Lucena, the prosecutor requested that a forensic doctor visit her home. The court decided to postpone the public trial for transfemicide, and it will finally take place on October 1st, starting at 10:00 AM."We have to wait too long"
Members of LGBT rights social organizations from Aireana and Panambí had traveled to accompany that first hearing. They carried signs demanding "they kill us and nobody goes to jail" and "stop the violence against trans people".
READ ALSO: March for the transfemicide of Romina Vargas: “We are not all here, 59 are missing”
“We have to wait far too long to find out if we will get justice or not. I find it sad that a public defender would say she has a headache and therefore not attend such an important event for us. Every person murdered in the circumstances that Romina was deserves justice, needs reparations, and the trans community truly needs them ,” Yren Rotela, a trans rights activist, told Presentes.
Yren Rotela, trans activist
In Paraguay, the Public Prosecutor's Office does not investigate disappearances and transfemicides. “Just because we are trans people, they think our lives have no value,” argued María García, “we are human beings and we also deserve justice. Trans people have never had a case that went to trial, and that's why Romina's case sets a historic precedent . I believe it is only fair that Amarilla receives the maximum sentence.”
"The State must do justice."
“The Paraguayan state must deliver justice; it must impose a sanction so that the message reaches those who hate us. Let it be clear that there is a conviction for killing a trans person, as stated by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights,” said Mariana Sepúlveda, an activist with Panambi.
“They don’t care, because we are poor. We are discriminated against and victims of violence. That’s my perception. I felt powerless and sad, because if a public figure had been murdered, this would never happen. But well, this moment has to find us united and strong. We have to believe that justice exists for us ,” Yren emphasized.
READ ALSO: Violence against trans people has increased in Paraguay: the police are the main threat]
The perpetrator—who had previously attempted to murder Maida Bordón, Sheila Aguayo, and Yren Rotela—confessed to the crime. “I don’t understand why they’re arresting me, if society doesn’t care if one of them dies,” he stated at the time. He also publicly expressed his hatred for the trans community.
Carolina Robledo Desh, president of Aireana, a lesbian rights group, told Presentes that the State is complicit in Romina's murder because, despite the existence of all the evidence needed to clarify the case, the justice system continues to obstruct it. “From the moment we learned that the hearing was going to be postponed, everyone at Aireana agreed to support this process because the struggle of our trans sisters is also our struggle,” Robledo continued, adding that on October 1st they will go to the Palace of Justice with the organization's drumline, the “tatucada,” to demand justice for Romina.
The murder of Romina Vargas was the 61st victim of a transgender person since the fall of Alfredo Stroessner's dictatorship. On October 1st, there will be another opportunity to seek justice for her and for the other victims whose murders remain unpunished. ]]>
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