Argentina's Macri says investigations into activist justified

BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) - Argentine President Mauricio Macri said on Saturday that court investigations into against jailed social justice activist Milagro Sala were justified, after two major multilateral organizations called this week for her release. Sala is a deputy in the parliament governing the Mercosur trade bloc, which is composed of several traditionally left-leaning Latin American nations including Argentina. Also a leader of the Tupac Amaru social movement, Sala was detained in January and accused of instigating criminal acts after leading a protest in front of government buildings in the interior province of Jujuy. She is also being investigated for alleged fraud related to a low-income housing programme led by Tupac Amaru. The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights and the Organization of American States called this week for Argentina to pay attention to statements made by a United Nations working group in October, which called Sala's detention "unwarranted and arbitrary." At a press conference on Saturday, Macri responded to those statements by defending the investigation. "To the majority of us Argentines, it seems that there were a number of important crimes committed by Milagro Sala, that merited all these judicial proceedings that are open," Macri said. "I'm in a position to be able to inform all of the [international] organizations of what is happening in Jujuy. Because of that we've invited them, because of that I have asked the governor and the judicial authorities of Jujuy to let be known what has happened." Sala is an ardent defender of leftist ex-President Cristina Fernandez, who preceded the much more conservative Macri and is also facing a number of corruption accusations. Sala's husband, Tupac Amaru member Raul Noro, has called the accusations against her "political persecution." Noro was arrested in July and has since been released along with three other group members. (Reporting by Maximilian Heath; Writing by Gram Slattery; Editing by Richard Chang)