An Argentinian judge is facing disciplinary action after she was caught on camera kissing a “highly dangerous” prisoner that her court previously sentenced to life behind bars. Comodoro Rivadavia Judge Mariel Suárez is being investigated by judicial authorities in Chubut Province after footage leaked of her inappropriate behavior with Christian ‘Mai’ Bustos at the Penitentiary Institute (IPP) in Trelew, the Buenos Aires Times reports.
An Argentinian judge has been caught on prison CCTV kissing a convicted cop-killer who she tried to save from a life sentence.
Mariel Suarez, a judge in southern Chubut province, was filmed kissing Cristian ‘Mai’ Bustos in jail near the city of Trelew on the afternoon of Dec 29. pic.twitter.com/YVvAzJzf42
— MassiVeMaC (@SchengenStory) January 4, 2022
- The incident happened only a week after Bustos was sentenced. Suárez visited Bustos on December 29, a week after he admitted shooting policeman Leandro ‘Tito’ Roberts in Corcovado back in 2008. However, his horrific crime wasn’t enough to put Suárez off, as she’s the one who leans in for the kiss.
- Suárez tried to get Bustos a reduced sentence. She was one of six magistrates leading the court and was the only one to request a lesser sentence for Bustos during deliberations. Judges María Laura Martini and Ximena Miranda Nastovich agreed that Bustos should be sentenced to life behind bars.
- Suárez insists she has “no sentimental relationship” with Bustos. In fact, she claims she only visited him because she’s “doing a book on his story.” Sure, sounds legit. “I have no sentimental relationship with this person, I have no personal ties. I am making a book with this person because of his story and it is the first one I am going to write,” she explained. “I will make a statement and show the documents so that they can see that the statement is real.” She went on to say that their meeting was “by chance” and that she believes she “fulfilled my role as a judge well.”
- Chubut’s Superior Court of Justice released a statement in light of the video’s release. “As a result of a formal communication addressed to the ministers in court, a meeting requested by a criminal judge of the district of Comodoro Rivadavia and an inmate housed in said penitentiary center, considered highly dangerous and recently condemned in the framework of an oral and public trial held in the city of Esquel, came to light,” it said. “From the information communicated by the IPP, it appears that the judge has engaged in inappropriate conduct for a magistrate. The proceedings are aimed at elucidating the circumstances of the meeting between a judge and a convicted person, the tenor of the meeting, its duration, and its characteristics, which could imply violations of the Public Ethics Law and/or the General Internal Regulations of the Judiciary.” It’s unclear what action will be taken against her.
Mariel suarez,la jueza falta de cariño. pic.twitter.com/y1821T29U8
— mario35🇦🇷 (@tigredprimera) January 5, 2022
