Argentinian rugby players sentenced to life in prison over teen’s murder

Eight amateur rugby players have been found guilty over the murder of an aspiring law student in Argentina, in a case that has outraged the public and shone a harsh light on racist attitudes in the country.

Three others were given 15 years in jail by the court in the town of Dolores on Monday. Several of the assailants belonged to the same amateur rugby team; all eight are between the ages of 21 and 23.

The brutal killing in January 2020 has been among the most high-profile criminal cases in Argentina in recent years.

A media circus enveloped the two-week trial in January that saw some 80 witnesses, including young people who had witnessed the violent scenes and the rugby players' parents.

"Fernando is the only victim here," his mother, Graciela Sosa, told reporters before the verdict was rendered. "They killed him in the worst way possible, kicking him, while he was begging for them to stop."

Blas Cinalli, Ayrton Viollaz and Lucas Pertossi were convicted as "secondary participants" in the same crime.

Although racially motivated hate was never part of the charge presented by the prosecution, family members, activists and government officials considered it to be a key factor in the attack.

The National Institute against Discrimination, Xenophobia and Racism of Argentina called it a "clear racist attack" because of the words screamed by the assailants.

In Argentina, "negro" is a term that is not only used to describe people of African descent but also darker-skinned or Indigenous people.

Fernando Burlando, a lawyer for the family, said all of the attackers should have received a life sentence, and he planned to appeal. "Weak justice at the moment of sentencing is not justice," he said.

Mamani argued that although the role of race became a point of debate in this case, its importance was not evident to everyone, suggesting that there was still work to do.

"The big issue is not the prosecutor, or the lawyers, but the judicial system. The judicial system doesn't consider racism to be a reality in Argentina," he said.

"It's very hard for us to talk about racism but at least we're starting to ask ourselves if racism exists here."