The Argentine commissioner and current vice president of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), the Kirchnerist Andrea Pochak, has become embroiled in a serious scandal, for which she has been criminally charged for alleged acts of administrative corruption, in a context marked by accusations of conflict of interest and actions against the Argentine State itself.
The legal filing was made last Friday before the Federal Criminal and Correctional Court 10, where an investigation is requested into the official for possible abuse of authority, violation of public official duties, malfeasance, negotiations incompatible with public office, and fraudulent administration to the detriment of the State.
The case gained greater relevance after statements made during an IACHR hearing on March 12 in Guatemala were disclosed.
In this context, the then Undersecretary of Human Rights, Joaquín Mogaburu, warned that Argentina had remained “for years in a situation of absolute defenselessness” during the Kirchnerist administration of Alberto Fernández, who promoted Pochak.
The accusations particularly focus on her involvement in the so-called “Catella case,” currently pending before the inter-American system, where incompatibilities between her public functions and her previous role as a member of petitioning organizations may have arisen.
According to the official, the state area responsible for responding to the IACHR was under the jurisdiction of “a public official who had previously intervened in this same case, but as a representative of the petitioner and a member of the organization that promoted the complaint.” The mentioned entity is the Center for Legal and Social Studies (CELS).
Mogaburu also emphasized that there was no record of recusal or removal of that official, despite the “evident conflict of interest,” and denounced an “absolute and inexplicable inaction” in the defense of the State.
