UN Demands Argentina Release Indigenous Leader Milagro Sala

The United Nations demanded the Argentine government of Mauricio Macri immediately release Indigenous activist Milagro Sala, who according to the organization has suffered from arbitrary detention without legal grounds following her arrest earlier in the year.

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In a statement, the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention of the U.N. said there are a number of "accusations" against Sala, which could result in the Macri administration indefinitely detaining her.

The Indigenous activist and lawmaker was arrested in Jujuy on Jan. 16 after staging a month-long sit-in against Jujuy Governor Gerardo Morales, an ally of President Macri.

Leader of the 70,000-strong Tupac Amaru organization and a representative in Parlasur, the parliamentary bloc of South America's regional Mercosur bloc, Sala led protests against the Macri government’s neoliberal policies alongside other activists.

She previously faced charges of incitement, which were later dropped, but before she could be released a fresh warrant was handed down, alleging illicit association, fraud and extortion.

Since Argentine President Mauricio Macri supports her arrest, Sala is now dubbed the first political prisoner of Macri’s administration. She has said that justice bends to the “whim” of the president and his governors. Prominent human rights defenders and organizations have also labeled her arrest "illegal."

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Once Macri took office, he has faced constant protests not only from human rights groups, but from workers and unions after the loss of more than 150,000 jobs, cuts to education, and revisions to the country's tax and tariff rates, that privilege large, commercial exporters at the expense of smallholder farmers.

The Association of State Workers announced Thursday they will hold a national strike against the Argentine government on Nov. 10 to protest against high unemployment and demand higher wages.

By the end of 2016, 90,000 state worker's contracts will expire and there are no guarantees they will continue to work. There are also 300.00 state employees earning less than the minimum wage, according to the union

WATCH: Milagro Sala, Macri's 1st Political Prisoner, Starts Hunger Strike