Spain to extradite 'dirty-war' pilot

[Judi Lynn]

Last Updated: Monday, January 18, 2010, 20:42
Spain to extradite 'dirty-war' pilot

Spain's High Court has ordered the extradition of a Dutch-Argentine pilot to Argentina to face charges of throwing political prisoners out of aircraft into the sea under the military dictatorship 30 years ago.

Julio Alberto Poch, 57, was arrested in Spain last year after an Argentine judge travelled to Europe and spoke to colleagues of Poch who said he had boasted about hurling drugged prisoners into the River Plate or the Atlantic Ocean.

A retired Argentine navy lieutenant, Poch also holds Dutch nationality which protected him from extradition until he landed in Spain on a stopover en route to the Netherlands on Sept. 22.

He works for Holland's Transavia, an airline owned by Air France-KLM. "Poch threw several live people out of aeroplanes or helicopters which he flew as a naval air officer on pilot duty in the Argentine Navy between 1976 and 1980," a High Court statement said.

More:
http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/breaking/2010/0118/breaking77.htm