Argentina
Video of the search of Cristina Kirchner’s Recoleta apartment shown in Cuadernos trial
Images of the operation carried out in August 2018 were shown for the first time during an oral hearing. The defense questioned the full airing of the material, arguing that it affected the former president’s privacy.
In the oral trial in the Cuadernos case, images of the search carried out in 2018 at Cristina Kirchner’s apartment, on Juncal Street in Recoleta, were shown for the first time. The material was requested to be shown by prosecutor Fabiana León and was presented during the testimony of police commissioner Juan Carlos Barrales, who was in charge of the operation.
According to the various outlets, the procedure began on August 23, 2018 at 12:27 p.m., and the videos show officers from the Federal Police moving through different areas of the home, including the kitchen, living room, bedrooms, bathrooms and dressing rooms. Lawyer Carlos Beraldi is also seen at the scene. The agents appear dressed in white to avoid contaminating evidence, according to iProfesional.
During his testimony, Barrales said that upon entering they found an armored door at the entrance and another one in a dressing room behind the bed of what, he said, they assumed was the master bedroom. He also stated that there were cushions with the initials of Cristina Kirchner and Néstor Kirchner. According to his account, Cabral, whom he identified as the former president’s secretary, opened that door again to allow the search.
The witness also said that there were many valuable items in the apartment and that the operation was carried out while seeking to preserve the order of the rooms. According to iProfesional and Clarín, he said the home was handed over at the end of the procedure without any complaints.
The video screening prompted objections from the defense. According to Todo Noticias, Beraldi asked for the screening to be interrupted, arguing that it showed aspects unrelated to the case file and violated his client’s privacy. La Nación and TN reported that, after deliberation, judges Enrique Méndez Signori and Fernando Canero approved continuing the playback of the material, while Germán Castelli dissented.
According to TN, the Recoleta search was part of a series of simultaneous operations carried out that day in different parts of the country as part of the investigation.
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 original reporting on this event.
