An Argentinian judge remanded eight rugby players on Friday accused of beating an 18-year-old boy to death, a case that has hit the headlines in a country where rugby is a sport often associated with the wealthiest classes, announced a judicial source. These rugby players, aged 18 to 20, acted with "premeditation" to kill the victim, Fernando Baez, according to the decision of judge David Mancinelli.
The facts took place in the early hours of January 18 in front of a nightclub in the seaside resort of Villa Gesell, 370 kilometers south of Buenos Aires. After an argument inside the establishment between two groups of young people, the bouncers had just brought all the protagonists out of the dispute, according to video surveillance images.
"The accused, taking advantage of the oversight of the victim, who was from behind talking with friends, gave the first blow from behind, thus succeeding in destabilizing her and causing her to fall to the ground in a state of vulnerability ”, continues the magistrate.
"We're going to kill you, scum shit"
A witness declared to the justice to have heard the young rugby players, coming from a better-off environment than their victim, to declare "one will kill you, scum of shit". They were playing at Club Nautico Arsenal in the locality of Zarate, north of the capital, and were on vacation in Villa Gesell.
This affair has been shaking Argentina for weeks, making headlines in particular, amid social discrimination in a country where rugby is a sport traditionally associated with the wealthiest classes.
"I finally feel a little peace. I believe in justice, "said Fernando Baez's mother Graciela Sosa, who called on Tuesday for a rally opposite the Parliament in Buenos Aires, after the decision. Accused persons are liable to life if found guilty. The trial date has not yet been set.
- Buenos aires
- Argentina
- Rugby
- Sport
- Assassination