Argentine torture trial ends with life sentences for ex-military leaders of notorious prison

[Judi Lynn]

Argentine torture trial ends with life sentences for ex-military leaders of notorious prison
By Associated Press, Updated: Thursday, July 14, 5:11 PM

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina — Two former military officers were convicted Thursday of murder, kidnapping and torture at one of the most notorious prisons run by Argentina’s former dictatorship. Both got life sentences for crimes against humanity.

There were very few survivors among the 2,500 political prisoners who passed through “El Vesubio” prison during the 1976-83 military junta’s dirty war on dissidents, which officially claimed 13,000 lives in all.

“El Vesubio” was run by the army in La Matanza, a working-class suburb of the capital, said Rodrigo Borda, a lawyer for the Center for Social and Legal Studies, which has kept close track of Argentina’s progress in prosecuting crimes comitted by the junta.

“The detainees were hooded and chained together, and the guards gave them almost nothing to eat,” Borda said in an interview.

More:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/americas/argentine-torture-trial-ends-with-life-sentences-for-ex-military-leaders-of-notorious-prison/2011/07/14/gIQAFY4kEI_story.html?wprss=rss_americas