Man arrested for pointing gun at Argentine VP Kirchner: official

Man arrested for pointing gun at Argentine VP Kirchner: official

Police stand guard outside the residence of Vice President Cristina Kirchner in Buenos Aires on September 1, 2022
Police stand guard outside the residence of Vice President Cristina Kirchner in Buenos Aires on September 1, 2022. Photo: Luis ROBAYO / AFP
Source: AFP

A man was arrested in Argentina on Thursday for pointing a gun at Vice President Cristina Kirchner, security minister Anibal Fernandez said.

Several television channels broadcast footage of the man aiming a gun at the vice president's head from close range as she was getting out of the car that was taking her home in Buenos Aires.

Fernandez said the forensic police personnel would now analyze fingerprints to obtain more information.

Hundreds of activists have gathered since last week in front of the home of Kirchner, who is accused of fraudulently awarding public works contracts in her stronghold in Patagonia.

Prosecutors have asked that the ex-president, who ruled from 2007 to 2015, face 12 years in jail and a lifetime ban from politics.

Kirchner is the Senate president and enjoys parliamentary immunity.

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Even if convicted -- the verdict is expected at the end of the year -- she would not go to prison unless her sentence was ratified by the country's Supreme Court, or she loses her Senate seat at the next elections at the end of 2023.

Source: AFP

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