Argentina: Human Rights Defender Criminalised For Protesting

On June 16, 2023, the Constituent Convention of the Province of Jujuy, Argentina, carried out a constitutional reform without participation or publicity, and that could threaten the collective rights and the cosmovision of the Indigenous Peoples. 

As a result of the protests that followed the approval of the partial reform of the Provincial Constitution, violent police repression took place in the province of Jujuy, with serious irregularities and episodes of excessive use of force by state agents. The response of the security forces of the province of Jujuy to the demonstrations generated significant violations of the rights to life and personal integrity, recognized and protected by local and international law.  

Protests by communities, social and human rights organizations continue in the Province of Jujuy, as the Constituent Convention has not reversed the recent constitutional reform. Between July 12 and 13, arrest warrants and arbitrary raids were issued and began to be executed against teachers, university students and human rights defenders. Since the protests began, at least 130 people and human rights defenders have been arrested. 

Alberto Nallar is a lawyer and human rights defender; he unfailingly supported the popular mobilization against constitutional reform and provided support and legal assistance to people detained during the mobilizations and their families. The crime of sedition of which he is accused is a criminal provision frequently used in the country to criminalize people who exercise the right to social protest, along with obstructing public roads, incitement to commit crimes or resisting authority, among other actions.