After a trial referred to by Argentinian Vice President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner as a political witch hunt, an Argentina judge on Tuesday sentenced the nation's most well-known politician to six years in prison for corruption and barred her from running for public office.

The polarizing former president was found guilty of "fraudulent administration" in relation to erroneous public works contracts that were given while she served as president from 2007 to 2015.
 
On her Twitter page, Kirchner wrote that "none of the lies were proven" and that she had been convicted by a "legal mafia." 

¿Lawfare? ¿Partido judicial? Mafia y Estado paralelo. https://t.co/5jDZk9oZJh

— Cristina Kirchner (@CFKArgentina) December 6, 2022

The VP further added that "I won't be a candidate for anything, not a senator, or a deputy or president of the nation," in the 2023 general elections.
 
Kirchner enjoys legal immunity as a result of her present position, and analysts think it is doubtful that she will go to jail anytime soon. However, the decision raises significant doubts about her future.
 
"The verdict will have a strong political impact," said political analyst Rosendo Fraga of the University of Buenos Aires, noting that "the chances of her being arrested for the sentence are non-existent." 

Kirchner, who was president for seven years, and who continues to be a major and contentious figure in Argentinian politics, has consistently denied any wrongdoing.

She has criticized a "politicized" trial and the use of the right-wing opposition, particularly the team of liberal former President Mauricio Macri, as a weapon against her since the proceedings began in 2019.

The sentence will not come into force until all appeals, including those to the Supreme Court, have been exhausted.

The indictment prompted protests in various Argentine cities in support of Kirchner, which were coordinated by the left's most prominent figures.

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