Five Rugby Players Sentenced To Life In Prison Over Youth’s Death In Argentina

Máximo Thomsen, Ciro Pertossi, Matías Benicelli, Luciano Pertossi and Enzo Comelli, five players from a small team of rugby at Argentinawere sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of the young Fernando Baez Sosabeaten to death three years ago – the sentence by double murder was read this Monday, the 6th, in the city of Dolores, located 220 km from Buenos Aires. In addition to them, the trio Blas Cinalli, Lucas Pertossi and Ayrton Viollaz were sentenced to 15 years in prison as secondary participants in the crime. Considered the leader of the group, Thomsen fainted when he heard the verdict of life imprisonment, the maximum sentence contemplated by local legislation. Initiated on January 2, the trial moved Argentina, which has been following the story since January 18, 2020, when the crime against the 18-year-old law student took place in Villa Gesell, 370 km south of the capital. The athletes were on summer vacation in the municipality when, that night, they were expelled from a nightclub where the fight with Báez Sosa had started. In the street, the defendants isolated the young man and attacked him with punches and kicks, a beating that led to his death from multiple injuries.

Graciela Soisa, the victim’s mother, gave a press conference after the sentence was handed down and said she was satisfied with the verdict. “We’re satisfied. A new stage in our lives begins. It is now that we are going to grieve and learn to live with the pain, ”she said. “Forgiving them is very difficult. They knew what they were doing. They enjoyed killing my son, calling him a ‘fucking nigger,'” added the woman. “His absence is also perpetual and our pain is also perpetual”, she concluded, referring to the sentence handed down by the court against five rugby players. The prosecution had asked for life imprisonment for the eight accused, evoking the “will to kill” of “all of them”, with a “synchronized coordination” that prevented third parties from helping Báez Sosa. On account of this,
the young man’s family lawyer, Fernando Burlando, promises to appeal for everyone to serve the maximum sentence. “The most important thing is that the fact is proven. The three accused who benefited from 15 years in prison are our main target”, he told the press.

In the depositions, the accused gave statements such as “I apologize”, “I apologize”, “there was no intention to kill”, “there was no plan (to murder)” and “I am sorry”. The eight rugby players, all from the small town of Zárate, near Buenos Aires, have been in custody since 2020. Báez Sosa was the son of an elderly caregiver and a bricklayer, both Paraguayan immigrants. He had started a career in law after graduating from a Catholic school and doing charity work. After the repercussion of the case in the national territory, several sectors of society began to discuss alcohol consumption by young people, the construction of masculinity, xenophobia and racism in Argentina.

*With information from AFP