Amnesty International UK When she was 25, Belén went to hospital suffering abdominal pains and bleeding. Doctors discovered that she was having a miscarriage. Belén says she didn’t even realise she was pregnant. The hospital offered her medical support – and promptly called the police. They claimed she had induced an abortion, which is illegal in Argentina.
Belén is not a criminal: call for her freedom
Hospital staff treated Belén appallingly, presenting her with a foetus in a box they claimed (without evidence) to be her ‘son’. Instead of giving her medical support through her traumatic experience, staff taunted her. Belén woke in her hospital bed after surgery to find she was surrounded by police, who performed intrusive physical examinations on her against her will.
She had been stripped of her dignity and rights. At no point did Belén deserve this treatment.
Last month, a court sentenced Belén to eight years in prison for her miscarriage, after they ruled her guilty of murder. Even an abortion conviction carries a lesser sentence of four years. Belén’s lawyer appealed the decision and requested bail, but last week her bail request was refused. Belén remains in prison.
Her appeal could be heard in the district’s Supreme Court in the coming weeks, which is why now is the time to show Argentinian authorities that around the world, we stand beside Belén and demand her freedom.
Tell Argentina to free Belén now
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