LA PLATA, Buenos Aires Province . _{Today, Criminal Court No. 2 announced the sentence in the first trial for the murder of Tehuel de la Torre. The young trans man was about to turn 22 years old on March 21st, when he was last seen. Luis Alberto Ramos was found "criminally responsible co-author of the crime of aggravated homicide under the terms of Article 80, Section 4 of the Penal Code, an event that occurred in the town of Alejandro Korn between the late hours of the 11th and early hours of the 12th of March 2021, of which Tehuel de la Torre was the victim." This means that the court applied the aggravating factor of hatred based on gender identity (Section 4).}

_{The ruling is not the first to convict for a hate crime; the pioneering one was the one issued for the transvestitism of Diana Sacayan in 2018. However, this is the first time that the trans homicide of a trans man has been investigated and convicted. Among the restorative measures, it requests the Ministry of Women, Gender, and Diversity of the province of Buenos Aires—as proposed by the Prosecutor's Office and the plaintiff—"to create a specific protocol for searching for missing LGBTIQ+ persons, with a focus on sexual and gender diversity." It also requests the "declaration of a social emergency in the context of violence due to prejudice against transvestite trans people for the relevant purposes." However, it rejected a request by the plaintiff to urge the three provincial branches of government to comply with the transvestite trans labor quota law known as the Diana Sacayan law, as it is not appropriate for the Judiciary to reinforce the regulatory mandate it entails."}

Throughout the trial, Tehuel's serious difficulties in finding a job, as well as the discrimination he suffered for being a trans man, were mentioned.

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Activists celebrated the content of the ruling, which reviewed various legal frameworks from both Argentina and the international human rights system. These included some prior to the enactment of the Equal Marriage Law, rulings from the Supreme Court of Justice of Argentina, as well as the Yogyakarta Principles and standards of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights. 

"In a historic decision, the Argentine justice system recognizes for the first time extreme gender-based violence against trans masculinities and sets a significant precedent for the prevention and response to bias-based violence against transvestite and trans people," stated the Pride and Struggle Front, which brings together various sexual diversity groups. Together with the Commission of Friends and Family for Tehuel De la Torre, they played a crucial role, first in ensuring the trial was not postponed until 2027, as planned. And then in engaging with the justice system, especially the Prosecutor's Office, to address the challenges of trying the case of Tehuel, a young trans man from the suburbs.

Most of those who listened to the 40-minute, 83-page reading of the ruling called it "historic." Here's why.

_{Juan Pablo Caniggia, prosecutor}

"We were surprised by the Court's unanimous and forceful ruling. It left no issue untouched. They were very specific in their assessment of the evidence and facts, and they delved deeply into the case law." Caniggia emphasized: "It's a vital, extremely important ruling, which begins to shed light on these situations that are not visible to a certain segment of society and are happening."

The prosecutor emphasized the role of activism during the judicial process: "Support is extremely important. Without that visibility and support, these types of issues are more difficult." 

Regarding the additional measures requested, the prosecutor expressed satisfaction with the Court's acceptance of his request for a protocol for searching for missing LGBTQ+ persons and the declaration of a social emergency: "The fact that they have accepted it favorably will be of benefit to all justice officials." 

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_{Agustina Ponce, transvestite activist, Equal World Association (AMI)}

“At this time of nationwide hatred and disregard by national officials for laws protecting the LGBTIQNB+ community, hearing the grounds for this ruling has been exemplary,” said Agustina Ponce, a transvestite activist with the Equal World Association. The former Undersecretary of Diversity at the Ministry of Women, Gender, and Diversity of the Nation added: “It's also instructive for those unfamiliar with the laws. We're missing Tehuel; they don't say where he is. But we have a ruling that we've worked hard to achieve.”

_{Florencia Guimaraes, transvestite activist and president of the House of Lohana and Diana}

"It's important to highlight the struggle of the LGBTI movement, the effort, the fight, the commitment to this important trial, which wouldn't have been possible without the LGBTI movement. That's what I'd like to highlight: the community's struggle to once again hold a hate crime trial like we did in the Diana Sacayán trial."

Ivana Gutiérrez, Conurbanes for Diversity

"It's a unique and historic ruling. And it's important to say that we still want him to be found; we want to know where Tehuel is," said Ivana Gutiérrez of Conurbanes por la Diversidad (Conurbanes for Diversity). This regional organization, within the framework of the Pride and Struggle Front, carried out important and fundamental work in coordinating and supporting the investigation, as well as in coordinating with the plaintiff's legal team.  

Ian Rubey, Trans Masculinity, Pride and Struggle

"It's important to say that in these times, in a week and a year in which we have been continually attacked in our freedom to live, even denied our existence, it's extremely important that the judiciary has issued an exemplary ruling. Let these people know that our lives have value, that we are subjects of law, and that we have each other. There's still a second trial, it's true, but today is a great precedent. Their impunity is over, no more pedagogical violence against our bodies. Tehuel is our cry to demand justice and visibility for all transmasculinities who have experienced and continue to experience violence for not complying with social mandates."

_{Marcela Tobaldi, transvestite activist, The Orange Rose}

_{“This court has been very good, understanding the hate crime committed against Tehuel. In addition to the fact that everything is abundantly proven, this court's ruling reviewed international law, mentioning the Yogyakarta Principles, all the legal principles that affirm that LGBT communities around the world need to be protected and respected. It's a historic event that marks a before and after in criminal law. Just a few days ago, the Minister of Justice of the Nation, Mariano Cúneo Libarona, made very unpleasant statements that go against all the human rights of the LGBT community. And this ruling says: 'No, gentlemen, it's not like that.' It has a human rights and very political content, so I believe that this rain we are having right now, as Mónica and Tehuel's mother said, is a blessing, and I believe we have triumphed, and I hope that our LGBT community continues to be respected, at least in the province of Buenos Aires.”}

_{Claudia Vásquez Haro, transvestite activist, president of Otrans Argentina}

_{"The ruling is historic for several reasons, not only because it convicts the person who disappeared Tehuel and never spoke or revealed his whereabouts. It's not only a precedent-setting ruling, but in a context where we have a Minister of Justice like Cúneo Libarona, who dismisses our existence as a 'subjective idea,' here we have a sentence that clearly speaks of the murder of a trans person, motivated by hatred of their gender identity."} 

_{Darío Arias, Conurbanes for Diversity}

«_{This ruling is the result of a legal strategy, but also a fundamentally political one, and social mobilization. It is thanks to the strength of Norma Nahuelcurá, Tehuel's mother, and the Association of Relatives and Friends for Tehuel de la Torre, and organizations for sexual and gender diversity. I want to highlight the role of the National Pride and Struggle Front, which supported the family throughout the process, and the very important support of the gender and discrimination prevention and response institutions through the former Ministry of Women, Gender, and Diversity of the Nation and the former INADI (National Institute of Women, Gender, and Diversity) last year. This support is also provided at the provincial and municipal levels of the San Vicente district.} 

_{I believe this is a historic ruling, especially because it not only recognizes a crime based on gender identity bias in the province of Buenos Aires, but also adopts community reparation measures, sending a very strong message that no crime against a person based on their sexual orientation or diverse gender identity can go unpunished or be made invisible."} 

_{Estela Díaz, Minister of Women and Diversity of the province of Buenos Aires}

_{“We heard a very well-founded ruling, which clearly explained why there was sufficient evidence for the conviction, and also very precisely explained why it is a hate crime. We are facing a historic ruling,” said the Minister of Women and Diversity of the province of Buenos Aires. She recalled another historic ruling, that of the transvesticide trial of Diana Sacayán, “which unfortunately the Court later overturned .”}

_{“In this case, the grounds are very solid, as is the international and national jurisprudence to explain the hate crime as an aggravating factor, and the fact that the body was made to disappear. There, in our history of forced disappearances, is also that memory, inscribed in what it has meant that we don't know where Tehuel's body is. It brings a bit of reparation and historical justice, because we know that both in the province of Buenos Aires and throughout the country, the transvestite trans population in general has suffered impunity in the face of transvesticides. I think we need to set a precedent going forward, and of course with the reparative measures our Ministry is already working on.”} 

_{Martín Canevaro, 100% Diversity and Rights}

_{"We worked hard to achieve this trial. From the Pride and Struggle Front, together with Tehuel's Family and Friends, we promoted awareness and legal actions that led to this historic ruling. The ruling confirms that we have a robust legal framework regarding violence based on sexual orientation and gender identity, even though the Minister of Justice denies it.}

_{We particularly value the inclusion in the ruling of community reparation measures, such as the creation of a search protocol for missing LGBTI persons and the declaration of a social emergency regarding violence due to prejudice against transvestite and trans people."}

_{Alejo, non-binary activist, president of the Mocha Celis Popular Trans High School Student Center}

_{“I was deeply moved by the results of the trial. They were what they should have been; justice was done. And it began to heal a wound that, personally, had been very raw for me, because I have an older brother who is cross-sex, and he was able to reach the same age as Tehuel. So, it was very important for me, and thanks to that, I became much more sensitive to the issue. And now we move forward, for we are not a minority.”}