Fernando Báez Sosa trial: Who was convicted and what was their sentence?

Judges from Oral Criminal Court No. 1 of Doloreson Monday sentenced rugby players Máximo Thomsen, Enzo Comelli, Matías Benicelli, Ciro Pertossi and Luciano Pertossi to life imprisonment for the murder of Fernando Báez Sosa.

The five defendants were found guilty of double aggravated murder as the co-perpetrators of the attack, in which 18-year-old Báez Sosa was beaten and kicked to death.

Meanwhile, three other defendants Ayrton Violazz, Blas Cinalli and Lucas Pertossi received a 15-year prison sentence for being secondary participants in the brutal attack.

The court, composed of Judges María Claudia Castro, Emiliano Lazzari and Christian Rabaia in turn unanimously rejected the motion for annulment made by the defence lawyer Hugo Tomei.

In the case of the five men sentenced to life imprisonment, the judge’s ruling argued that they were the "co-perpetrators" of the crime, with the aggravating factors of premeditation and malice aforethought. As a result, the court handed down a strong sentence of life in jail, though the magistrates chose to differentiate between those who were proven to have hit Fernando (via CCTV footage or witness accounts) and those who had not.

Thomsen, Comelli, Benicelli, Ciro Pertossi and Luciano Pertossi are expected to serve at least 35 years in jail, though they may still face difficulties in winning parole at a later date. A 2017 reform of Argentina’s Penal Code does provide for that benefit for crimes such as the aforementioned.

In the case of the other three who were convicted of the lesser crime, all were handed the maximum sentence possible established in law for those who are classified as secondary participants. 

– TIMES/PERFIL