President of Argentina relieves Macri of intelligence secrecy in alleged espionage case

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Through a decree published Friday (29) in the Official Gazette, Fernández relieved Macri of the duty of confidentiality at the request of Judge Martin Bava, who is investigating alleged spying on the relatives of the crew of the Navy submarine (ARA) San Juan, sunk in 2017.

Macri was due to testify on Thursday, but the hearing was suspended because the ex-ruler had not been relieved of the obligation of secrecy in Intelligence matters.

The decree signed by Fernández states that the judge requested this measure from the chief executive due to “a request submitted by the defense of the accused” in Thursday’s hearing, “which had to be suspended in order to prevent future arguments for its annulment.”

“The defense’s request, which prevented the accused from making a statement (…) leads to the presumption that the named party requires, in order to exercise his defense properly, to allude to the performance of intelligence activities related to the object of the proceedings,” the decree states.

From the resolution published this Friday, it is clear that for the Fernández government it would not be necessary to relieve Macri from secrecy since the case is investigating “the potential commission of crimes related to intelligence activities prohibited by law, and not to activities or information that must be classified in the interest of internal security, national defense or the foreign relations of the Nation.”

However, the decree states that, “notwithstanding the above,” since Macri is accused “of a crime of public action” and “in order to enable the full exercise” of his right of defense, “it is appropriate to relieve the accused of the duty of secrecy and confidentiality established by law.”

According to the first subpoena to testify, issued on October 1, Macri is accused of having allegedly ordered and enabled, from his position as president, the “systematic” execution of illegal intelligence tasks between December 2017 and the end of 2018.

According to the judicial investigation, the alleged espionage aimed to obtain personal data and information from the families and relatives of the 44 crew members of the ARA San Juan, the Argentine Navy submarine that sank in November 2017 and was found a year later.

These actions “sought to influence the country’s political and institutional situation, specifically with respect to the claims made by the relatives over the sinking of the submarine, but also sought to “learn of their actions, the places where they met, their personal data and those of their circle,” reads the judicial decision ordering the summons for questioning.

In several public statements, Macri has denied having conducted or ordered illegal espionage activities and links the case to an alleged political persecution against him.