Italy Seeks 139 Suspects From Dirty Wars (Chile, Uruguay, Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia, Paraguay)

[Judi Lynn]

Italy Seeks 139 Suspects From Dirty Wars
By ARIEL DAVID – 17 hours ago

ROME (AP) — Italy is requesting the extradition of 139 former South American leaders and their underlings over the disappearance, torture and death of Italians who were caught up in a crackdown on dissent in the 1970s and '80s, a prosecutor said Thursday.

Those sought were involved in the military dictatorships of Chile, Uruguay, Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia and Paraguay and are accused in the kidnapping and murder of 25 Italian dissidents, said lead prosecutor Giancarlo Capaldo.

Suspects include Argentina's former junta leader Jorge Videla and Uruguay's former dictator Juan Bordaberry — both currently under house arrest and being prosecuted in their native countries.

Capaldo said he expects replies to the extradition requests in the coming months.

In an interview with The Associated Press, he said court proceedings could go ahead even without extraditions, as Italian law allows suspects to be tried in absentia.

More:
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5gV2FdgFVmPgEOfrg1L4Vg9Qj59xAD8U3AENO0

[Judi Lynn]

1. Death of Accused Torturer Probed

Death of Accused Torturer Probed
By BILL CORMIER 01.08.08, 8:23 PM ET

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina - Detained family members of an accused torturer poisoned days before he was to appear in court appealed for their freedom Tuesday amid suspicions the man was killed to keep him from talking about dictatorship-era abuses.

Hector Febres, poisoned last month by a large dose of cyanide, was found dead in his cell in a military brig Dec. 10, four days before a court was to rule on charges he kidnapped and tortured four dissidents during Argentina's 1976-83 military regime.

His widow, Stella Maris Guevara, and their grown children, Hector Ariel and Sonia Marcel, were detained hours later on orders of Federal Judge Sandra Arroyo Salgado, who is investigating Febres' death.

The family's defense lawyer, Claudio Casio, on Tuesday told the Noticias Argentinas news agency that allegations his widow and children were involved in a possible coverup of his death were baseless and should be dismissed. He said he filed an appeal for their release.

Febres had known he possessed risky information, gleaned as a former officer at the Navy Mechanics' School, the dictatorship's main secret torture center, according to excerpts of a legal document published by the Buenos Aires newspaper Clarin.

The document quotes Judge Salgado saying that Febres had made a "clear decision" to discuss his alleged role in military repression and "perhaps the destiny of children born in captivity," despite his awareness of the risks associated with implicating others.

At least 88 children born to political prisoners who disappeared during Argentina's dictatorship have been located, according to the Grandmothers of the Plaza de Mayo, a human rights group formed by missing prisoners' mothers, now devoted to finding their grandchildren.

Febres' death hinders efforts to track down more missing children - but the current investigation into his killing could pinpoint other abusers who might have wanted him dead, said Estela de Carlotto, president of the grandmothers' group.

More:
http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2008/01/08/ap4509200.html



Hector Febres
Argentine torture defendant may have been silenced
Mon Jan 7, 2008 11:47am EST

By Fiona Ortiz

BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) - A former coast guard officer found dead in jail days before the verdict in his trial for torture may have been killed to keep him from talking about human rights violations during Argentina's 1976-1983 dirty war, a judge's resolution said.

Hector Febres, defendant in a high-profile human rights case, died on December 10 of cyanide poisoning in the comfortable suite where he was held in a coast guard complex.
(snip)

Febres pleaded not guilty during his trial, but had recently told family and a priest friend he was planning to talk at his sentencing about crimes committed by the military because he was feeling like a scapegoat, according to the judge's resolution.

Febres may have been intending to provide information about what happened to babies born in captivity during the dirty war and illegally given out for adoption under fake names.

"There is evidence (Febres) had made a clear decision to reveal his part in the illegal repression and perhaps the destination of children born in captivity," the judge's resolution said, according to the source.

Security officials have maintained an almost absolute silence about rights violations during the dictatorship when some 11,000 people were killed according to an official report, or as many as 30,000 according to human rights groups.

In 2006, a witness in an earlier human rights trial -- which led to a life sentence for a former police commissioner -- disappeared and is still missing in what many believe was an effort to intimidate witnesses at future trials.

Under former President Nestor Kirchner courts turned over earlier amnesties for dirty war crimes. Kirchner's wife, current President Cristina Fernandez, has pledged to continue making human rights justice a priority.

The Kirchners were student activists in the 1970s and friends of the couple were killed during the military regime.

http://www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUSN0733271920080107?feedType=RSS&feedName=worldNews&pageNumber=1&virtualBrandChannel=0