Uruguay reopens probes on dictatorship-era crimes

[Judi Lynn]

Uruguay reopens probes on dictatorship-era crimes
June 28, 2011

Uruguayan President Jose Mujica on Monday announced he would reopen some 80 investigations into crimes committed during the country's 1973-1985 military dictatorship, his office said.

Mujica was fulfilling "an ethical duty" to probe the abuses, presidential secretary Alberto Breccia told reporters, alluding to an order by the Inter-American Human Rights Court earlier this year to investigate and punish forced disappearances.

The president, an ex-guerrilla leader who battled Uruguay's military dictatorship, will sign a decree authorizing the probes by the end of the week, said Breccia.

The move also comes months after failed efforts to overturn an amnesty for military officers who are accused of crimes during the dictatorship.

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