Human bones found in Argentine detention center; 10,000 fragments confirming torture deaths

[Judi Lynn]

Updated: 42 minutes ago

Human bones found in Argentine detention center; 10,000 fragments confirming torture deaths
By JEANNETTE NEUMANN | Associated Press Writer
4:45 PM CST, December 9, 2008

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — Inside a once-secret detention center where political dissidents were tortured and killed during Argentina's dictatorship 25 years ago, forensic anthropologists have discovered a pit containing 10,000 bone fragments.

The first discovery of human remains inside a detention center confirms the testimonies of hundreds of survivors who have said for years that authorities tortured, killed and burned the bodies of political opponents, they said Tuesday.

"This scientifically confirms the testimonies of the detained," said Luis Fondebrider, a forensic anthropologist who helped uncover the remains inside the former detention center in La Plata known as Arana.

The 10,000 bone fragments were unearthed between February and September, and on Tuesday Fondebrider and his team announced that the remains were human. Now months of laboratory work is needed to determine even the minimum number of bodies that were destroyed in the pit.

More:
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/sns-ap-lt-argentina-dirty-war,0,3822288.story