Argentine tourist accused of racism in Brazil to return home following ruling

Agostina Páez, the Argentine tourist who remains under house arrest in Rio de Janeiro since mid-January over racism charges, will be able to return to her country after the Brazilian judiciary accepted an habeas corpus petition filed by her defense lawyer. Páez will have to pay a bail of around US$18,000 in order to travel back to Argentina where she will await her sentence, which the judge is expected to issue in 15 to 20 days. She will also have her ankle monitor removed, and her passport returned to her. Last week the judge ruled that if Páez is found guilty she will be able to comply with her sentence in Argentina, something her defense had requested. Páez was initially looking at a potential sentence of 15 years in prison in Brazil after three victims accused her of injúria racial, a serious crime that reflects Brazil’s zero-tolerance approach to racial discrimination. She was arrested and charged after making racist gestures at a group of men during a fight over the check at a Rio bar. A video of her reaction went viral on social media. Last week, the victims’ defense team and the prosecutors agreed to unify the three accusations into one and requested that, if found guilty, she receive a maximum sentence of two years in prison, which can be replaced with community service and a fine for each of the men who accused her. They also agreed that Páez will be able to comply with her sentence in Argentina, given she has no criminal history in Brazil and the expected sentence is low. During a hearing last week, judge Guilherme Schilling Pollo Duarte had agreed to allow Páez to carry out her potential sentence in Argentina, but hours later said she would have to remain in Brazil until he issued his sentence. Her defense filed an habeas corpus to demand she be allowed to return to Argentina while she awaits the verdict, and the judge accepted it, reverting the decision. Now, Páez is expected to return to her home province, Santiago del Estero, and await the judge’s final decision.  The woman’s lawyer, Carla Junqueira, said she expects her client to be sentenced to two years of community service or other measures alternative to prison, in addition to a fine of around US$150,000. Still, the judge could decide to impose a tougher sentence — the maximum for injúria racial is five years — or acquit her.