Americas News
After 23 years, trial of Argentine rights offenders begins
By DPA
Jun 21, 2006, 18:41 GMT

Buenos Aires - Twenty-three years after Argentina's military dictatorship ended, the first trial for human rights abuses has begun amidst celebratory demonstrations outside the courthouse and with a former president slated to testify.

The trial, which began Tuesday, follows last year's hard-fought lifting of amnesty that had been granted to military and police figures implicated for crimes during the 1976-1983 period.

Miguel Etchecolatz, 77, a former member of the secret police, is charged with murder, kidnapping and torture when he allegedly served as the right-hand-man of notorious Buenos Aires police chief Ramon Camps.

Former president Raul Alfonsin, the first elected leader following the dictatorship, will likely appear as a witness in the trial, which is expected to last three months according to a justice department spokesperson.

Etchecolatz has denied the charges and insisted on being tried before a military tribunal.

Human rights groups estimate that up to 30,000 people were killed during the seven-year dictatorship, most in the first two years. The lifting of amnesty came after extreme pressure was applied by family members of civilians who were killed and disappeared.

Etchecolatz is charged with managing 21 secret torture facilities in the province of Buenos Aires, at which he was spotted by countless witnesses, many of which are expected to testify. He was already sentenced to 23 years in prison in 1986, but was freed due to Argentina's amnesty laws introduced the same year.

The current trial is just the beginning. Argentinian President Nestor Kirchner, who grew up in the same generation as many of the military's victims, has committed himself to pursuing the masterminds behind the 1976 military coup.

Two laws granting amnesty to police and military officers were introduced in 1986 and 1987 in the face of a revolting military. But opposition waned as implicated figures began to retire from service.

The amnesty laws were rescinded by both houses of parliament in 2003 and, in the final step, declared unconstitutional by Argentina's Supreme Court last year, making it possible to impose new sentences against those involved.

About 180 military and police personnel are currently in prison or under house arrest as prosecutors prepare further trials, while another 400 are being investigated.