The Provincial Commission for Memory (CPM) conducted a detailed report on the repressive incidents that occurred during a demonstration lasting over six hours, in which arbitrary arrests, injured individuals, improper use of lethal and non-lethal weapons, among other acts constituting public offenses were reported. It was highlighted that the security forces made indiscriminate and disproportionate use of rubber bullets, chemical irritants, batons, and water cannons during the operation.
One of the most serious situations took place on Yrigoyen Avenue, where the Gendarmerie and Federal Police carried out actions that, according to the CPM in its role as a Mechanism for the Prevention of Torture, were beyond the legal framework and constituted offenses against public action. In its complaint, the Commission calls for a thorough investigation to determine the responsibilities of both the material executors and the political leaders behind these unlawful acts, contrary to constitutional guarantees and international human rights treaties.
In the presentation made, detailed information was requested from the national Ministry of Security and the City regarding the agents, resources, and authorities involved in the operation, as well as the orders issued. Additionally, testimonies from injured individuals and professionals who attended to them, film records from security cameras, and the demand for security forces to comply with current legal frameworks were requested. The CPM indicated that the reported illegal acts were carried out strategically by a hierarchical command, indicating a programmed and planned repression by security authorities.
Extreme cases were reported, such as the impact of a tear gas grenade that left Pablo Grillo in critical condition and the direct aggression of a police officer against an elderly woman who lost consciousness. The figures compiled by the CPM included 114 arrested individuals, three minors among them, 672 injured persons (including a 14-year-old girl burned by tear gas), use of prohibited lethal weapons at demonstrations, and improper use of non-lethal weapons. All this material was presented to the Federal Criminal and Correctional Court No. 2.
During monitoring, the CPM observed the deployment of more than 1,000 agents to suppress the demonstration, which spread across several streets and avenues with the aim of dispersing the participants. The repression began at 3:15 PM and extended past 10 PM, using various violent tactics that affected protesters, bystanders, and journalists present at the scene. One of the most severely injured protesters was Pablo Grillo, who remains hospitalized after being severely injured.
The CPM requested a thorough investigation to clarify the responsibilities of political officials in this repressive operation, emphasizing that the political leadership of the security forces must be held accountable for the purposes of such operations and for the use of public force. The accounts and evidence gathered during the monitoring support the necessity to carry out this investigation with rigor and precision.
