Argentina: His Name Is Cristian Díaz and His Crime Is Supporting Palestine

Carlos Aznárez – 10 Feb, 2024

Cristian Díaz is a key name in Argentina’s solidarity with Palestine. If you have not heard of him, it is simply because, in this type of society, there is an attempt to make invisible all those who put their body or intellect at the service of a just cause. Let us remember that exactly eight months ago, Cristian was detained in the Marcos Paz prison, accused of neither more nor less than “racial hatred.” He is there against all judicial logic, since time and again the request of his lawyers was rejected—a request that while waiting for his trial he could enjoy freedom or, ultimately, serve house arrest. However, that only happens in the imagination of a country where human rights have substantial value. Today’s Argentina is far from those parameters, since every day we see how genocidal figures of the military dictatorship live in freedom or remain “prisoners” in their homes, where they have the luxury of taking a summer “getaway” or organizing festivities where, in addition to having fun, they conspire. Cristian’s nightmare, which has now turned him into a political prisoner, began when, on June 14, a group of police officers, several of them hooded, responding to a complaint filed by the head of Security of the Israeli Embassy, burst into his home, displaying all types of weapons as if they were going to arrest the worst of murderers. As usually happens in these cases, that “task group” that responded to the “progressive” former Minister of Security Aníbal Fernández, applied all possible violence in their raid, and, after completely turning the house upside down, they only found a flag of Palestine (something very common for those who claim the noble and heroic cause of that people) and a couple of notes in Arabic, a language that Cristian had been studying for a long time, when his job as a metal worker allowed it. With all this “arsenal”, evidence was “assembled” that they did not really need, because since the Mossad man “marked” Cristian as an enemy, first the police and then the Justice Department did nothing but subordinate themselves to the accusation. It is worth remembering that this occurred in “national and popular” times, something that, in this present moment, when a man in favor of carnal relations with Israel governs, takes on greater gravity.

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When we met Cristian this past Friday in the prison’s locutory as part of a visit organized by the Permanent Assembly for Human Rights, our first impression was the confirmation, once again, of the perverse ease with which people are sent to prison who do not think or give their opinion as the authoritarian regime —disguised as democracy— would like them to. Eight months have already passed since Cristian arrived there, only because the branches of justice that have to carry out the expert examination of a cell phone that belonged to him have been postponing it indefinitely. Obviously, these types of individuals at the service of a violent power care little about the person who suffers the consequences of their decisions. Despite all this, Cristian has lost his job and also his home, he is in very bad shape financially, and, if it were not for the solidarity of the Lawyers’ Guild and the colleagues of the Committee of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, the APDH, and the League for Human Rights, who send him food, the punishment would be even greater.

In the talk we had, beyond expressing how painful it is to be in prison for defending the freedom to think and express an opinion and, at the same time, be in solidarity with everyone who suffers injustice, we felt that Cristian radiated strength and confidence that they not be able to break. Just as Che maintained, which he showed off in his red t-shirt, being consistent with ideas can bring difficulties and even deep pain, but, at the same time, it nourishes dignity in those who put these ideas into practice. That is why, at various points in the conversation, Cristian’s face darkened when he spoke about the thousands of boys and girls murdered by the occupation in Gaza and about the desperate mothers fleeing the phosphorus bombs, doing everything possible to protect their babies. However, he also insisted on the love of the land and everything it means to a people that has been fighting for its independence for more than 75 years.

It is moving to listen to a humanist Christian, sensitive and extremely serious in his proposals, and to discover that a man of 40-something years old, knows very well that he is innocent and is not resigned to stop fighting for his freedom, accompanied by all people in solidarity. These are difficult times, there is no doubt, here, where fascism seeks to make a place for itself in the institutions and among significant segments of the population and where the hunger of our people is advancing rapidly. On the other hand, in Palestine, more than 30,000 have been murdered by imperialist cruelty. At the same time, these moments test our rebellious ideas. An significant part of these ideas has to do with the need to embrace our prisoners who struggle. Cristian is one of them, and we must make him feel that he is not alone in the battle to demonstrate that ideas cannot be imprisoned. These ideas continue to flow, intact, for the love of Palestine.

(Resumen Latinoamericano)

Translation: Orinoco Tribune

OT/KW/SL