ARGENTINIAN activist Milagro Sala was sentenced to 13 years in prison on Monday after she was charged with illicit association, fraud and extortion as part of the “Pibes Villeros” case.

The leader of the Tupac Amaru Neighbourhood Association was accused of taking $60 million pesos (US$1.6 million) from the state under the pretext of building social housing and diverting the funds.

She had already been in prison for three years and is currently under house arrest.

Ms Sala’s lawyers said that they will appeal the decision, claiming irregularities during the trial.

She insists that her detention is politically motivated to prevent her standing against the Jujuy Senator Gerardo Morales.

Ms Sala told reporters: “If Gerardo Morales is a gentleman, let him give me my freedom and let’s compete to govern.”

“The judges are pressured by Morales so that they sentence us all. And all my colleagues are innocent, they didn’t rob anything. The only thing they did was to try and find honour and to live a little better. 

“Nobody investigates anything, but of course they investigate the black woman, the indigenous woman.

“So, dear journalists, you are part of the bureaucracy and you are those responsible for implementing justice in our province.”