Less than a week after an Appeals court revoked the bail of former vice-president Amado Boudou, effectively sending him back to jail, two separate rulings could soon find another pair of emblematic personalities back behind bars.
On Friday, a court ordered the arrest and return to jail of controversial picketer Luis D'Elía over a case dating back to 2004. Meanwhile, on Monday Boudou's friend and former associate José María Núñez Carmona was dealt a similar blow, with Appeals preparing to revoke the businessman's bail.
D'Elía was until recently behind bars on charges related to the alleged cover-up of the 1994 AMIA bombing case. He was released on health grounds.
On Friday, the Federal Appeals Court III ordered his arrest over the forced takeover of a police station in La Boca neighbourhood in 2004 for which he was sentenced to three years and nine months' jail.
Judges Eduardo Riggi, Carlos Mahiques and Liliana Catucci rejected an appeal presented by D'Elía's defence, ordering his immediate arrest.
The charges centre on an "investigation into the commission of crimes, injuries, attack on authority, kidnapping and take-over" of the police station, according to the original ruling.
However, D'Elía may still be spared jail time since his legal team will try to argue that the picketer's health cannot justify a prison stay. The courts will then be forced to carry out a medical examination. Until this process is exhausted, D'Elía will remain out of jail.
NÚÑEZ CARMONA
Early last week, an Appeals Court held up a complaint by two anti-corruption offices against the decision in December to grant former vice-president Amado Boudou temporary release from Ezeiza prison.
Boudou was accused of using shell companies and secret middlemen, including Luis María Núñez Carmona, to gain control of a company that was given contracts to print Argentine currency as well as material for President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner's election campaign. He was the first sitting Argentine vice president to face such charges.
Now, Núñez Carmona, is subject to a similar Appeals decision with judges Gustavo Hornos, Javier Carbajo and Mariano Borinsky determining he should return to jail to continue serving time for corruption, according to a Perfil report citing court sources.
-TIMES/PERFL
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