In Argentina, a court has sent police officers to trial in the case of the death of transgender woman Sofía Fernández. Three of the ten accused will be tried for aggravated homicide motivated by hatred towards gender identity, as co-perpetrators, and for abuse of their official position. The Court of Appeal and Guarantees of San Isidro overturned the dismissal of the case against nine of the ten police officers accused of the femicide and subsequent cover-up. The body of 36-year-old Sofía Fernández was found dead in a cell at Police Station No. 5 in the city of Derqui on April 11, 2023. From the very beginning of the investigation, the victim's family and activists have insisted that this was not a suicide but a hate crime, using the slogan: "No one commits suicide in a police station."
"The police, incredibly, remain on active duty and will face trial for aggravated homicide motivated by gender identity hatred, for abuse of their authority, and for the premeditated participation of two or more people—a crime that carries a life sentence," stated the "Justice for Sofía" movement in a press release.
The investigation revealed that Sofía Fernández was detained on April 8, 2023, on suspicion of theft. She requested to be placed in a women's police station and for her gender identity to be respected, but her request was denied. Initially, the police claimed her death was sudden, but later changed their story, calling it a suicide.
