Uruguay
Questions Raised Over Mónica Ferrero’s Changes to Uruguay’s Crimes Against Humanity Prosecutor’s Office
La Vertiente Artiguista, Crysol and Frente Amplio leaders rejected statements and decisions by the acting prosecutor general regarding the specialized prosecutor’s office. According to La Diaria, there were also criticisms over the reassignment of prosecutors and the impact of those measures on cases linked to state terrorism.
La Vertiente Artiguista expressed its rejection of the statements by the acting prosecutor general, Mónica Ferrero, regarding the Specialized Prosecutor’s Office for Crimes Against Humanity. According to La Diaria, the sector said in a statement that her remarks downplay the number and complexity of the cases handled by that office.
During a parliamentary appearance, Ferrero said she would carry out a review in prosecutors’ offices with fewer cases to add related matters and advanced that the specialized prosecutor’s office would not be abolished, although it would take on new responsibilities. For La Vertiente Artiguista, that approach represents a setback in the investigation of serious human rights violations committed during state terrorism.
According to La Diaria, Ferrero ordered on September 9 the transfer of a prosecutor from the specialized office team to the 12th shift Flagrancy Prosecutor’s Office, initially between September 21 and 27. In addition, on July 8 she resolved the transfer of assistant prosecutor Natalia Denegri to the First Shift Homicide Prosecutor’s Office until this Friday.
Prosecutor Ricardo Perciballe said on la diaria Radio that those moves took place on the eve of a visit by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights to assess compliance with the Maidanik v. Uruguay ruling, which, he said, obliges the state to strengthen that prosecutor’s office. Along those lines, he considered Ferrero’s measures to amount to a weakening of the office.
La Vertiente Artiguista said that both Ferrero’s resolutions and statements run counter to the international commitments assumed by Uruguay. It also expressed its support for Perciballe and his team, and called for respect for technical independence within the Public Prosecutor’s Office.
According to La Diaria, the president of the Human Rights Commission of the Frente Amplio, Adriana Barros, said that the Political Board of that force is concerned about the dismantling of the prosecutor’s office and warned that the transfers delay cases linked to the recent past.
The Crysol association also issued a statement against Ferrero. There it accused her of promoting the hollowing out of the specialized prosecutor’s office and questioned her handling of the area. In addition, according to La Diaria, it rejected Ferrero’s reference to the office having “some 20 cases” and said that in reality there are 25 cases under the new Criminal Procedure Code and 120 under the previous system.
Crysol called for Ferrero’s resignation and asked for the prosecutor’s office to be strengthened with more prosecutors, budget and technical staff. It also said the political system must defend that office as part of the democratic response to human rights violations.
Sources
About this note. Written by El Notero with the assistance of artificial intelligence, based on what was published by the cited outlet. El Notero did not do its own reporting on this event.
