Transfemicide of Sofía Fernández: Judge to be removed from the case
This is Judge Walter Saettone, of court number 7 in Pilar. He did not consider it a hate crime. Nine of the ten police officers charged in the transfemicide of Sofía Fernández are free.
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Sofía Fernández was murdered in a police station between April 8 and 10, 2023. She was 39 years old, a literature teacher, and was about to begin classes in the nursing program. She had recently transitioned and had begun the process of changing her legal documents under the Gender Identity Law. A week before classes were to start, she was arrested by police from the 5th Precinct in Derqui, Pilar. When Sofía requested to be transferred to a women's station, she was isolated and held incommunicado. Two days after her arrest, she was found dead in her cell.
First they said she had committed suicide, then that she had suffered a medical episode. However, the autopsy shows signs of torture and a violent death caused by at least three people. All of them police officers, both men and women.
In May of this year, after evaluating and considering the seriousness of the evidence, were arrested and prosecuted : five for “aggravated homicide motivated by hatred of gender identity, by the premeditated participation of two or more people, and by being perpetrated by members of the police force.” The other five were arrested and prosecuted for the crime of aggravated cover-up. Shortly after their arrest, the officers were granted house arrest, and a month later, Judge Walter Saettone, head of the Pilar Court of Guarantees No. 7, ordered their release.
The only prisoner so far is Carlos Rodríguez, whose lawyer is Francisco Oneto, who also represents Máximo Thomsen (sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of Fernando Báez Sosa) and is a former candidate for vice-governor for the La Libertad Avanza party.
The family's claim
Mabel Valdéz is Sofi's sister. From her home in Villa Rosa, Derqui,
Pilar points out that the judge's performance was not the best and that he disregarded key and compelling evidence that is in the autopsy report itself, but also in the messages found on the police phones.
She remembers being with Sofía in the early hours of that Saturday when Sofía was arrested hours later. She says Sofía was wearing a black denim skirt and a coat. She imagines her sister left that morning dressed like that. “This crime is about hate, about hatred of women. About gender violence,” she says.
Sofia had to leave her job as a teacher because she was discriminated against. “She suffered a lot of discrimination in every job she had. She began to transition to her female identity in the last year. I know that trans people face many difficulties, and I can't imagine what she went through. So many difficulties that they ultimately led to her death.”
Sofia's arrest was unjustified. One police officer (the same one who later tampered with evidence) told Mabel she was lost; another said she had committed a burglary but would be released quickly because she had no prior record. Neither Mabel nor her brother found any explanation for the arrest, and there was no report of the alleged attempted robbery. A municipal officer was involved in the arrest and, in one of his statements, recalled Sofia pleading with them not to take her away "because they were going to kill her."
Mabel's life changed completely that April of 2023. Today, she recounts that the day she was told Sofi was being transferred to a women's police station, her sister was already dead. “The hatred isn't just evident in the autopsy, in the words, in the messages. The hatred of leaving her lifeless body for more than 48 hours, the hatred they felt in not letting us say goodbye. The judge doesn't see that. We couldn't see my sister, we couldn't hug her, we couldn't kiss her. The judge dedicated himself to delaying the entire investigation this year,” she tells Tiempo Argentino . The case is now being handled by lawyer Ignacio Fernández Camillo.
The case is being handled by a team of prosecutors consisting of Esteban Álvarez, prosecutor for illicit drug investigations in San Isidro; Manuel Cayuela, from the gender area; and the assistant prosecutor also specialized in the subject, Victoria Santamaría.
Mabel points out that Sofía's case hasn't received enough coverage. “With one exception—Mariana Fabbiani's program on América TV—this isn't discussed on television, and I think that's important because we need to raise awareness that these things shouldn't happen. The laws have to change when police officers are involved. The Ministry of Security shouldn't have to pay for the experts or the lawyers, as happened here. And the sentences have to be effective.”
“Today the law is against me because of my plea for justice. There are thousands of people going through the same thing. I don’t want to spend my whole life asking for justice. I don’t want to grow old or leave this world without justice, like what has happened to so many people,” she says, deeply moved.
Manifestation
The Justice for Sofia Fernandez Commission, together with social and human rights organizations, will gather on Tuesday, October 8, at 11:30 a.m., at the doors of the Ministry of Security of the Province of Buenos Aires (Calle 2 between 51 and 53), La Plata.
They are demanding that the Ministry cease providing legal, technical, and institutional defense to those accused of Sofía's murder. The Ministry also provided expert witnesses for the defense.
The police officers charged are Assistant Sub-Officer Carlos Rodríguez, Sergeant Yésica Núñez, Sub-Lieutenant Viviana Ruiz, Sergeant Gonzalo Germán Robles, and Assistant Sub-Officer Ezequiel Francisco Ávalos Ibáñez. Those charged with obstruction of justice include the head of the police station, Daniel Salerni; the Deputy Commissioner, Mirian Valor; Sergeant Gabriela Miño; Officer Camila Pitular; and Assistant Officer Gustavo Gabriel Camacho. Of these, only Rodríguez remains in custody.
Furthermore, a visual inspection will be carried out on Wednesday, October 9th, at the police station where Sofía was murdered. The prosecution, led by Ignacio Fernández Camillo, requested that the defense's experts not participate in this inspection. However, the judge denied the family's request for exclusion.
The collective accompaniment
Mabel is supported by civil organizations in her protest. “I found a lot of support in the collective organization; it’s like another family I’m getting to know, in addition to the psychological support, since I don’t have a psychologist.”
Sofia's family is asking for help to cover expenses, primarily legal fees. To contribute, you can use the account for the fight fund. The username is sandra.944.acceda.mp
Since January 1st, there have been 3 transvesticides in Argentina, according to the Adriana Zambrano observatory.
This article is published thanks to an agreement with the newspaper Tiempo Argentino.
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