Rio de Janeiro's justice system revoked the preventive detention of Agostina Páez, the 29-year-old Argentine lawyer accused of racial insult, allowing her release with an electronic ankle bracelet. Though no longer imprisoned, she cannot return to Argentina yet as the judicial process continues. Her family expressed fears for her safety following recent incidents.
Agostina Páez, a 29-year-old Argentine lawyer, was released from prison on February 6, 2026, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, after the revocation of her preventive detention for racial insult. The incident sparking the complaint occurred on January 14, when Páez, on vacation with friends, made racist gestures and expressions toward bar employees in the Brazilian city. Initially, her passport was retained and she was fitted with an electronic ankle bracelet for monitoring, though the document was later returned. However, the ban on leaving Brazil remained in place.
Less than 48 hours after the Rio Public Prosecutor's Office requested her detention due to flight risk, judicial authorities accepted her defense's plea and ordered her release around 4:30 p.m. Argentine time. Páez had been taken to a police station from midday and completed administrative procedures to regain her freedom. Judge Orlando Eliazaro Feitosa of the Rio de Janeiro Regional Justice Court oversees the case, which carries penalties of two to five years in prison without bail.
Her lawyer, Sebastián Robles, argued that Páez complied with the process from the start and posed no procedural risk. "Agostina submitted to due process from the very first moment, complied with all imposed measures, and never attempted to flee," Robles stated. The defense challenges the detention and filed a habeas corpus to allow her return to Argentina, a request previously denied.
The situation worsened recently due to an incident at her apartment, where three people entered without authorization, forcing her to move for safety reasons. Her father, Mariano Páez, recounted: “She's terrified, she has a lot of fear” and “I feared for her life.” The family is considering traveling to Brazil amid received threats and her emotional state. The Argentine Embassy provides consular assistance but does not intervene judicially. There are no precedents for convicting foreigners on this charge in Brazil, according to Robles.
