Police officials jailed for stealing babies

[emad]

By Seamus Mirodan in Buenos Aires
(Filed: 31/03/2004)


A former police chief and a police doctor have been jailed in Argentina for stealing babies from murdered Left-wing political prisoners.The infants were handed over to childless members of the Right-wing junta that then ruled the country.The pair received seven years each for their actions during the 1976-83 "Dirty War". The sentences marked the first time a court has condemned junta officials for stealing babies. Human rights groups hope that it it will aid their campaign to bring the most senior officials to trial.

Miguel Etchecolatz, a former police commissioner, and physician Jorge Berges were found guilty of arranging the theft of a baby from imprisoned Uruguayan parents in 1977. The parents were later "disappeared" by the military dictatorship, a euphemism for their murder.About 30,000 people were tortured and killed during the seven year crackdown on Left-wing radicals.The regime habitually had pregnant regime opponents' babies delivered at a secret location. Once the baby was born, the mother was executed and the child given to families of military personnel who were having difficulties adopting.

The conviction marks a breakthrough for prosecutors and human rights groups who believe that the military junta arranged for the kidnapping of at least 500 children. So far, only 77 of these have recovered their true identity."It serves as an important precedent," said Lucas Miguel, of the Permanent Assembly of Human Rights, although he and his colleagues "are not happy with the number of years they were condemned for". The case centred on the adoption of Carmen Sanz, who was born in captivity to Aida Sanz, a prisoner last seen in a Buenos Aires detention centre before disappearing forever. Carmen had been living under the identity Maria de las Mercedes Fernandez until she was found by the Grandmothers of the Plaza de Mayo, a human rights organisation.

The two officials were accused of forging identity documents to allow her adoption. Their crimes were judged to be aggravated because of their status.Etchecolatz had previously been sentenced to 23 years in prison in the Eighties for kidnapping and torture during the dictatorship, but was released under an amnesty. Now the courts have argued that the laws do not cover the theft of babies causing several cases to be reopened.Jorge Videla, the military regime's first president, and the former navy chief Emilio Massera are among those under investigation for the theft of babies among other crimes.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2004/03/31/warg31.xml&sSheet=/news/2004/03/31/ixnewstop.html

[Cooley Hurd]

1. Hi emad aisat sana

Please do not reformat news articles in an attempt to conform to DU's copyright rule of 4 paragraphs. Please feel free to repost with edited text to conform to DU copyright rules.

Thanks! :hi: