Kirchner testifies in graft probe

BUENOS AIRES: Argentina´s ex-president Cristina Kirchner received a rock-star welcome from thousands of supporters as she appeared in court on Monday to request a graft probe against her be dropped, claiming it was "persecution" by the current government.

"This is folly. It´s manipulation by the current government to cover up the economic disaster," Kirchner told journalists after the hearing before a federal judge in Buenos Aires.

The former leader, in power between 2007 and 2015, is being investigated on allegations that her government steered public works contracts to a businessman, Lazaro Baez.

She was the first of 17 people summoned to give statements. The judge, Julian Ercolini, is to determine whether the case should go ahead to trial or be dismissed.

Kirchner said she had submitted a written request to cancel the corruption probe, one of many launched against her since she left office in December. Baez, a construction magnate who is in custody, had close links to Kirchner and to her late husband Nestor Kirchner, who preceded her as president.

The complaint filed by prosecutors alleges that Kirchner was part of a "criminal organisation" with other officials working to benefit Baez, who repaid the former president by renting rooms in hotels owned by the Kirchner family in the southern province of Santa Cruz.