The trial against Higui de Jesús begins: she was attacked for being a lesbian, she is accused of defending herself.
Higui suffered an attempted corrective rape and is accused of killing her attacker.
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BUENOS AIRES, Argentina. The trial against Eva Analía Higui de Jesús will begin on March 15 in the San Martín Courts (Buenos Aires Province), after a two-year delay . Her lawyer, Gabriela “Chiqui” Conder, called on organizations and activists to take to the streets: “A team plays on the field, but if it has fans, it’s a different story. Higui needs everyone’s support.”
Higui is a 47-year-old lesbian woman of short stature: she is 1.50 meters tall. On October 16, 2016, she was attacked in a hallway in the Mariló neighborhood , in the town of San Miguel in the province of Buenos Aires, by a group of men who harassed her because of her gender expression and sexual orientation .
“I went to say hello to the kids. It had been a while since I’d been there. I thought this guy wouldn’t be there. He was a violent evil,” Higui said this Saturday at a meeting in Plaza de Mayo between activists and allies to organize actions seeking his acquittal.
On October 16, he defended himself and fatally wounded one of the attackers, he stated in his declaration.
Higui was found “unconscious and beaten” by the police and was soon prosecuted for “simple homicide” by the Court of Guarantees 6 of San Martín.
Because of this decision, she was imprisoned for almost eight months, until June 13, 2017 , when she left the Magdalena prison because she was granted extraordinary release .
“I came out for the girls,” Higui said, days before her trial begins.
“She must be acquitted because it is legitimate self-defense.”
For her part, her lawyer, who told Presentes that the case is currently being handled by Criminal Court No. 7, stated: “Higui acted in self-defense. She must be acquitted because it was legitimate self-defense. It was her life or the other person's. It was an attack and a sexual assault.”
She also asserted that it was an attempted "corrective rape" because she was a lesbian. "Everything is geared towards making women and lesbians victims. When you break free from that and defend yourself, the state accuses you. They don't want us to defend ourselves. Higui could have been just another femicide," she added.
For Conder, the trial “is going to be difficult.” There will be four hearings beginning on March 15, and 30 witnesses will testify. “They are all witnesses against her because she was alone,” she stated.
“Higui is free because there was a significant movement . He was released thanks to the people who mobilized at that time,” he added, and asked that activists and anyone who wants to get involved “be present at the trial.” For this reason, he is seeking a public trial and requesting that it be held in Courtroom A of the San Martín Courts so that more people can attend.
“They can’t imprison us for defending ourselves. We need to know what the judges are going to say. That’s why it has to be public,” she argued.
"We hope the trial will be public."
Gabi Peperina, a lesbian and member of the San Martín Diversity and Dissidence Committee , met Higui on a trip to El Bolsón to participate in the historic Festivxl of Diversity .
“Higui is a super positive, super active person, a great companion, a good neighbor, she loves dogs,” she told Presentes, and about the violence she experienced she said that “wanting to attack someone for how they express themselves is a violence that we all have to eradicate.”
Furthermore, he emphasized that " we will achieve acquittal by being present ," and expressed: "We hope that the trial will be public, that we can broadcast it, that there will be greater support, and that the violence that Higui experienced will become more visible."
Around 50 people gathered to support Higui. “A lesbian defended herself, her name is Higui, we want her acquittal,” they chanted, while waving a black flag with the phrase “Acquittal for Higui.” The gathering will be repeated next Saturday at 3 p.m. in Plaza de Mayo.
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