Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, Argentina’s former president and one of the country’s most polarizing political figures, was sentenced to prison on Tuesday and barred for life from public office after the Supreme Court upheld her corruption conviction.
The ruling is likely to deepen political tensions in the country and comes after Mrs. Kirchner, who was the target of an assassination attempt three years ago, announced plans for a political comeback.
The Supreme Court rejected an appeal by Mrs. Kirchner in a 27-page ruling, cementing a six-year sentence handed down by a lower court that had found she defrauded the state during her two terms as president, from 2007 to 2015.
Still, Mrs. Kirchner, 72, is unlikely to serve significant prison time as Argentine law often allows house arrest for those over age 70.
The lower court, which will determine if Mrs. Kirchner gets home detention, said she had five business days to present herself before the tribunal to be officially detained.
After the Supreme Court upheld her corruption conviction, Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, the former president of Argentina and one of the most divisive political figures in the nation, was sentenced to prison on Tuesday and barred from holding public office for life.
Following the announcement of plans for a political comeback by Mrs. Kirchner, who was the victim of an assassination attempt three years prior, the ruling is expected to exacerbate political tensions in the nation.
In anticipation of the court ruling against the left-leaning Mrs. Kirchner, who has frequently clashed with Argentina’s right-wing president, Javier Milei, supporters blocked important highways around the capital, Buenos Aires, while major labor unions threatened nationwide strikes.
The Supreme Court, in a 27-page decision, denied Mrs. Kirchner’s appeal, upholding a six-year sentence imposed by a lower court that determined she had defrauded the state during her two terms as president, from 2007 to 2015.
Nevertheless, given that Argentine law frequently permits house arrest for people over 70, Mrs. Kirchner, 72, is unlikely to receive a lengthy prison sentence. Mrs. Dot Kirchner has five business days to appear before the tribunal to be formally detained, according to the lower court, which will decide whether she receives home detention. The security minister was also requested to provide a suitable location for her detention.
Until a judge authorizes her home detention, the former president may be detained for a few days, according to Andrés Gil Domínguez, a professor of constitutional law at the University of Buenos Aires.
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