Tue Jun 17 22:59:53 UTC 2025: **Former Argentine President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner Placed Under House Arrest Amidst Protests**

**Buenos Aires, Argentina** – Former Argentine President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner has been placed under house arrest to serve her six-year sentence for corruption, a federal court ruled on Tuesday. The decision has sparked protests from supporters who denounce the move as political retribution.

The court cited Fernandez’s age (72), her high profile, and security concerns following a 2022 assassination attempt as reasons for granting house arrest. The court said that her safety “would become complex in a situation of prison confinement in coexistence with any type of prison population”. This comes after the Supreme Court upheld her conviction last week, barring her from holding public office in the future.

Fernandez was found guilty in 2022 of using public works projects to enrich a close associate, Lazaro Baez, who received contracts with inflated rates. She will serve her sentence at her Buenos Aires apartment, under electronic monitoring and strict limitations on visitors.

The incarceration follows a lifetime ban from public office which has ignited widespread condemnation among Fernandez’s supporters, who have taken to the streets of Buenos Aires in protest, claiming the ban is politically motivated.

Fernandez, who served as president from 2007 to 2015 and later as vice president, remains a popular figure among working-class Argentinians, despite facing numerous corruption allegations throughout her career. She currently leads the Justicialist Party, the main opposition force against the current libertarian President Javier Milei.

While her supporters rally in her defense, the court’s decision underscores the ongoing political tensions in Argentina and the continued scrutiny of Fernandez’s legacy.

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