The sentence also bars her from holding public office.

With the Supreme Court rumored to rule shortly in her appeal, hundreds of members of the center-left "Peronista" movement Kirchner belongs to gathered Monday to show their support and declare themselves "on alert."

"From the most ordinary activist to the most prominent one, everyone has an immense responsibility: to organize," Kirchner told the group.

The 72-year-old announced last week she would seek a seat in the Buenos Aires provincial legislature in September elections.

If she wins a seat, she will have immunity for the duration of her four-year term.

But if the court rejects Kirchner's appeal before then, she will be unable to run.

Kirchner rose to prominence as part of a political power couple with her late husband Nestor Kirchner, who preceded her as president between 2003 and 2007.

After two terms at the helm herself, she served as vice president from 2019 to 2023 in the last center-left administration before libertarian President Javier Milei took power.

Milei campaigned as a cost-cutting, anti-establishment antidote to Kirchner's Peronist movement, accused of widespread corruption and economic mismanagement.

She has been a staunch opponent of Milei's policies of deregulation and slashing public spending.

tev/lm/mlr/mlm