Argentina's Fernandez seeks justice in transgender killings

BUENOS AIRES, Oct. 16 (UPI) -- The president of Argentina called for the cooperation of police in solving the murder of Diana Sacayan, the third transgender person killed in the country in the past month.

Sacayan's body was found in her Buenos Aires apartment Tuesday, showing signs of violence, the human rights group Amnesty International said. It is believed she had been stabbed to death.

Sacayan was a prominent activist in Argentina's LGBT community and the leader of several groups calling for LGBT equality.

President Cristina Fernandez, speaking in the city of Garin, asked for the full involvement of federal and municipal police in finding the assailant.

Fernandez presented Sacayan with the first identification document in Argentina to indicate a gender change.

"In homage to a woman, Diana Sacayan, who was the first to whom I presented her new ID, I request the cooperation of the federal and metropolitan police to clarify this crime," Fernandez said.

Some 1,731 transgender people have been killed in Latin America between 2008 and 2014, 78 percent of the worldwide total, the activist group Transgender Europe said.