House arrest revoked for convicted Argentine Dirty War torturer Miguel Etchecolatz

[sandensea]

Last edited Sat Mar 24, 2018, 11:49 PM - Edit history (1)

Former police inspector Miguel Etchecolatz, sentenced to life in prison in 2006 for crimes against humanity during Argentina's Dirty War in the 1970s, was returned to prison by a federal court ruling issued today.

Etchecolatz, 88, had been granted a transfer to house arrest on December 27 over the objections of prosecutors, human rights groups, as well as penitentiary service doctors, who determined the convict to be in excellent health.

His lawyers had alleged that Etchecolatz found prison "detrimental to his health." Federal Appeals Judge Mariano Borinsky determined however that the December ruling contradicted medical reports, was "based on contrived assertions lacking in evidence," and therefore "violated due process."

Granting Etchecolatz house arrest, Judge Borinsky ruled, was a "judicial scandal."

Etchecolatz oversaw 21 detention camps in the southern suburbs of Buenos Aires and the city of La Plata. He was responsible, among many other atrocities, for the infamous "Night of the Pencils" raid in 1976, involving the disappearance of 11 high schoolers.

He was convicted of 91 charges of torture, and in 2006 was sentenced to life in prison. The star witness in his trial, 76 year-old Jorge Julio López, was himself abducted days after testifying against Etchecolatz, and remains missing.

Human rights groups have noted that since the right-wing Mauricio Macri administration took office in late 2015, 164 convicted Dirty War perpetrators (one in six) have been granted house arrest. Some have reportedly violated the terms of the arrest - most recently Julio Méndez, who was spotted on March 14 traveling to scenic Tandíl, some 200 mi south of Buenos Aires.

Macri's Justice Minister, Germán Garavano, was revealed to have held secret talks with Argentina's most prominent Dirty War apologist, Cecilia Pando, in April 2016 to discuss the feasibility of granting Dirty War convicts the benefit of house arrest.

"We're used to this from this administration," Julio López's son, Rubén, said. "But for those of us who survived, this is an obligation."

At: https://translate.google.com/translate?sl=auto&tl=en&js=y&prev=_t&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.infonews.com%2Fnota%2F314120%2Fla-justicia-le-revoco-la-prision-domiciliaria&edit-text=

Etchecolatz threatens human rights advocates during a 2014 trial. Today's ruling returns him to prison.

[Judi Lynn]

1. There is, for the moment, one conscientious judge working during Macri's Presidency.

Have to hope fervently that Macri won't have Judge Borinsky disappeared without a trace, just like the witness against this evil monster was also disappeared, never to be seen again.

A human being could never have a history worse than this, one would think.

How dare this lunatic claim prison was not so comfortable for his well-being.

How courageous the Judge is to take on the tidal wave of hatred that will break against him from the fascist.

Thank you, sandensea, for the news justice has surfaced, in spite of attempts to bury it.