Argentina's Supreme Court upholds six‑year prison term for ex‑prosecutor Carlos Albaca

Argentina's Supreme Court of Justice confirmed a six‑year prison sentence for former prosecutor Carlos Albaca, rejecting his appeal and leaving in place the conviction for breach of public duties and aggravated concealment. The ruling upheld the lower‑court judgment that Albaca obstructed the investigation into the 2006 disappearance and murder of 23‑year‑old Paulina Lebbos, a case marked by procedural irregularities and loss of crucial forensic evidence.

Albaca, who presided over the investigation for seven years, was found to have deliberately opened multiple competing hypotheses and kept the case under secrecy, preventing key DNA and hair analyses from being performed. He has been detained since May 2023 in Villa Urquiza prison; in November 2024 a judge granted him humanitarian house arrest for severe visual problems and his advanced age of 71.