The vice president recalled that the privileges do not belong to the legislator but belong to the Chamber and that the request of Justice will be dealt with by the Senate.
The vice president and head of the Chamber of Senators, Beatriz Argimonassured that, when he arrives, the request for the impeachment of Justice for the senator will be processed quickly Gustavo Penadeson whom eight complaints of retribution to minors in exchange for sex weigh.
This was stated in a dialogue with the Underlined outlet, in which Argimón said that he will be attentive to the moment in which the request for impeachment arrives from the Supreme Court of Justice (SCJ), which will be given “immediately processed”. “Without a doubt, it will have a due diligence, in quick terms,” she said.
The vice president explained that the challenge request has “established deadlines.” The route will be as follows: the prosecutor will request it from a judge, the judge will refer it to the Supreme Court of Justice and this last body will refer it to the Parliament. Although there were doubts about whether it should be processed by the Chamber of Deputies or the Chamber of Senators, a legal report commissioned by the latter determined that it should be in the Senate.
This legal discussion is due to the fact that, although Penadés occupies a seat in the Senate, he does so as a substitute (in this case as Luis Alberto Heber, Minister of the Interior), since he was elected in October 2019 as a deputy for List 71 of the National Party.
“It arrives and is sent to the Constitution Commission, which recommends to the plenary session the position to be considered. The privileges belong to the chamber, not to the legislators. And in this sense, we are attentive to when that request arrives to process it immediately,” he said. Argimon.
On May 4, a few days after the first complaints against him became known, Senator Penadés sent a letter to the vice president asking that the chamber lift its privileges “immediately” once the Justice requests it.
At the moment, eight people testified against the nationalist legislator, who last Thursday gave his testimony as an investigator before the prosecutor Alicia Ghione, Head of one of the Sexual Offenses Prosecutors. Along with him did the history teacher Sebastián Mauvezín, whom the victims point to as the intermediary between Penadés and the minors.
For the moment, prosecutor Ghione has not asked the Justice to remove senator Penadés, who is currently on leave as a senator and as a member of the National Party. When asked about the position that the ruling party will take when the request arrives, Argimón replied: “There are talks, but the official determination, due to a matter of respect for the process, has not yet been made public.”
Source: Ambito
