JURIST - Paper Chase: Argentina court reinstates charges against ex-president over 2001 riot deaths

[JURIST] The Buenos Aires Appeals Court in Argentina overturned the dismissal of murder charges against former president Fernando de la Rua [BBC profile] on Tuesday. The charges were dismissed in April by Judge Claudio Bonadio after he said that the prosecution had not established sufficient evidence [Buenos Aires Herald report] to show that de la Rua initiated the chain of events that led to the deaths of five protesters. The court reinstated the charges Tuesday, ordering a magistrate to continue with the investigation. De la Rua was originally charged with five counts of manslaughter [JURIST report] in October 2007 for allegedly ordering the Federal Police to halt a demonstration that resulted in five deaths and more than 100 injuries [AP report].

The deaths came during riots sparked by a national economic crisis [BBC report] that caused de la Rua to flee the presidential residence and eventually resign his office just two years into his term. De la Rua has also faced several other criminal charges. In 2008, he defended himself [JURIST report] against bribery charges. In December 2004, an Argentinian court charged [JURIST report] him with improperly allocating public funds for his own private use and for the use of his political party while serving in public office.