MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Revolución Federal leades indicted in Argentina

The defendants “carried out a criminal plan,” the judge said

Argentine Federal Judge Marcelo Martínez de Giorgi Thursday approved the indictment of the four leaders of the Revolución Federal (RF) rightwing activist group who were arrested on his orders last week and released by a court of appeals on Tuesday.

Jonathan Morel, Leonardo Sosa, Gastón Guerra, and Sabrina Basile, are to be tried for organizing or taking part in permanent or transitory groups whose purpose is to impose their ideas or to fight against others by force or fear, as per Article 213 bis of the Criminal Code, which provides for prison sentences of up to eight years.

The magistrate also warned in his ruling that the conduct of the defendants was beyond the constitutional right to protest and to free speech.

The judge also ordered the seizure of assets belonging to the defendants up to the amount of AR$ 9 million (around US$ 32,550 at the unofficial “blue” exchange rate).

“It is considered materially proven that, through this organization, the defendants carried out a criminal plan, the purpose of which was to impose their ideas and combat those of others by force or fear,” said Martínez de Giorgi in his ruling.

To this end, ”they used intimidating demonstrations in different social networks - Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram - and mass media, distributing leaflets and through self-organized protests, planning, coordinating and disseminating hate messages, intimidating acts and violent demonstrations - mainly against authorities of the current PEN (Executive Branch) and its supporters.“

”Thus, they generated the desired impact of inciting collective violence in an undetermined number of people who can freely access the mentioned social networks,” Martínez de Giorgi went on.

The defendants have been linked to the Sept. 1 assassination attempt against Vice President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner. Both Morel and Basile have denied these allegations.

Basile's arrest gained notoriety because she is the daughter of former Argentine national football team coach Alfio Coco Basile.