República Cromañón Verdict handed down
Palacio de Justicia, originally uploaded by blmurch. This afternoon a little after 15 hrs, sentences were handed down for the Cromañón trials. On December 30, 2004 one of the worst non-natural disasters befell Argentina. 194 concertgoers were killed when the República Cromañón nightclub burned and people were trapped inside because four of the six exit doors were locked with chains. For five years the families have been seeking justice, and today the verdicts were handed down.
Many people were on trial and not everyone was convicted. The band - Callejeros - was absolved of guilt. Their former manager, Diego Argañaras, was sentenced to 18 years in prison. Omar Chabán, the former manager of the República Cromañón was sentenced to 20 years in prison. The prosecutor wanted 23 years. Raúl Villarreal, Chabán's right-hand man was also absolved, but he did receive one suspended year of prison, and he's got to do community service. Some of the lower government officials who didn't do their jobs correctly were sentenced to two years of prison. The sub-commissioner, Carlos Díaz was given 18 years, however the commissioner Miguel Belay was absolved. The former mayor, Aníbal Ibarra was not on trial. He'd already lost his mayorship soon after the fire. The charges of corruption were too much for him to brush off, the public called for his resignation and he was impeached.
Crazy Crowd, originally uploaded by blmurch. I went to the Palace of Justice to take photos of the reactions of the crowd outside on assignment for The Argentimes. Most of the crowd was supporters of the band Callejeros, young teenagers and twenty-somethings, who were overjoyed to find out that the band members themselves were held blameless. They were a raucous crowd and started moshing several times. I was knocked over once and got myself out of the melee fairly quickly after that. I continued to take photos, but not from the middle of the crowd as much. Not sure how that goes with my proto-photojournalist cred, but my instinct for self-preservation took over. There were some incidences of violence between supporters of Callejeros and the families of the victims, but I didn't see them. There was also a report of stones being thrown at palace of justice along the side streets, and the police responding with tear gas and water, but again, I didn't see that myself. I'm kind of glad.
These judgments may put to rest the call for justice, but it doesn't bring back the 194 people who died that night and the five survivors who have since committed suicide. It doesn't give their families what they want, but hopefully it will bring a bit of closure to this horrible event.
More sources
My photo set on flickr
Wikipedia English Cromañon entry
Wikipedia Spanish Cromañon entry
Clarin's article
The Survivors, Friends and People from the Cromañon Fire
Kids making music, originally uploaded by blmurch.
Comforting, originally uploaded by blmurch.
Excitement, originally uploaded by blmurch.