Amnesty International Report 1999 - Argentina

ARGENTINA

One prisoner of conscience remained under house arrest. There were reports of torture by police; victims included minors. Killings in circumstances suggesting possible extrajudicial executions continued to be reported. Threats against human rights defenders continued. There was little progress in clarifying past human rights violations, but a number of investigations were initiated.

In March the National Congress repealed the Full Stop and Due Obedience Laws, passed by the civilian government in 1986 and 1987 respectively. These laws granted immunity from prosecution to members of the security forces involved in human rights violations committed during the period of military government between 1976 and 1983, and prevented the victims of these violations and their relatives from seeking legal redress, although cases of "disappeared" children were excluded (see Amnesty International Reports 1986 and 1987). The repeal of the laws was interpreted by some members of the judiciary as not being effective retroactively.

In August the Inter-American Court of Human Rights set the amount of reparations and costs to be paid by the State of Argentina to relatives of Adolfo Garrido and Raul Baigorria who "disappeared" in 1990 after being detained by members of the Mendoza Provincial Police. The Court also ruled that the State of Argentina must investigate the facts surrounding the "disappearance" of the two men and bring to trial those found responsible and anyone who had covered up or participated in the "disappearances".

The Argentine authorities remained obstructive and unwilling to cooperate with Spanish court proceedings relating to past human rights violations (see Amnesty International Reports 1997 and 1998).

In January former navy officer Alfredo Astiz was put under military arrest for 60 days after publicly admitting that he had participated in operations by units of the Escuela de Mecánica de la Armada (ESMA), Navy Mechanics School, during the period of military rule. The ESMA had been responsible for the abduction, "disappearance" and murder of people considered "enemies" of the military government. A few days after his arrest, Alfredo Astiz was expelled from the Navy and stripped of his rank by the Navy High Command. He was subsequently released. In April he was called to give testimony before a federal judge in relation to investigations into illegal adoptions of "disappeared" children of detainees held at the ESMA.

Three former senior officers were arrested during the year on charges relating to cases of "disappeared" children. The children had either been abducted with their parents or been born in secret detention centres during the period of military government; some had been adopted by members of the security forces. In June, 72-year-old Jorge Rafael Videla, a former army commander and President of the military junta between 1976 and 1981, was arrested in connection with the illegal adoptions of five children whose parents "disappeared" between 1976 and 1978 and who had been abducted by the security forces. The investigation was subsequently extended to 10 cases. In July he was released from prison and placed under house arrest. In November, 73-year-old Emilio Massera, a former admiral and member of the first military junta, was arrested in connection with kidnappings involving the cases of 17 "disappeared" children. He too was transferred from prison to house arrest. In December, 71-year-old former Navy Commander Rubén Franco was arrested also in connection with the kidnapping of children. The investigations had not concluded by the end of the year.

In June prisoner of conscience Fray Antonio Puigjané, who had been arrested in 1989 (see Amnesty International Reports 1997 and 1998), was released from prison and transferred to a Franciscan convent on the eve of his 70th birthday. His transfer followed a judicial ruling made under a discretionary procedure which allows prisoners aged over 70 to complete their sentences outside prison. At the end of the year he continued to serve a 20-year sentence under house arrest.

Recommendations made in December 1997 by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights regarding the cases of members of the Movimiento Todos por la Patria, All for the Fatherland Movement (see Amnesty International Reports 1990 to 1993 and 1998), were not implemented.

There were reports that detainees and street children were tortured by police. Several victims did not file formal complaints for fear of reprisals. Killings in circumstances suggesting possible extrajudicial executions continued to be reported. When investigations were initiated into allegations of human rights abuses, progress was slow. According to the non-governmental human rights organization Servicio Paz y Justicia, Service Peace and Justice, street children and minors were arbitrarily detained and attacked by police officers in Buenos Aires. Among the victims was Diego Martín Arbia, a minor, who was arrested by members of the federal police in January and taken to the División Roca police station where he was beaten by two police officers while handcuffed, and doused in petrol. When the handcuffs were taken off and he was placed in a cell, a lighted match was thrown into the cell. He was left in the cell until the following day. Diego Martín Arbia needed medical treatment for burns on his neck, ears and head.

During the year the Coordinadora Contra la Represión Policial e Institucional (CORREPI), Association against Police and Institutional Repression, recorded more than 40 cases of killings by police, known as "gatillo fácil" ("trigger-happy") killings (see Amnesty International Reports 1996 and 1998). For example, in May Diego Pavón, a minor, was in the street outside his house playing, when a police officer shot him dead at point-blank range. According to reports, the police officer had threatened Diego Pavón, who was to give testimony against the police officer's brother who was charged in connection with the killing of another youth. Witnesses to Diego Pavón's killing were reportedly reluctant to give evidence for fear of reprisals. The investigation was closed for lack of evidence.

Human rights defenders were threatened and attacked. In July a threatening message was left on the answering machine of Sergio Smietniansky, a lawyer working with CORREPI to support relatives of the victims of police repression. In November Esteban Cuya, a Peruvian delegate from the Coalición contra la Impunidad, Coalition Against Impunity – a German human rights organization which campaigns for German courts to bring to justice those responsible for human rights violations against German nationals during the period of military government in Argentina – was attacked in Buenos Aires. Unidentified men gagged him with a wet towel and threatened him with death. An official complaint was filed, but no information was available on the progress of the investigation by the end of the year.

In May Amnesty International published a report, Argentina and Chile: The international community's responsibility regarding crimes against humanity – trials in Spain for crimes against humanity under military regimes in Argentina and Chile. In May Amnesty International delegates met provincial and federal authorities to present Argentina: "Occupational hazards"? Attacks, threats and harassment against journalists". The delegates raised the organization's concerns about human rights violations committed by police officers and death threats and attacks against journalists and human rights defenders. The delegates called for the unconditional release of Fray Antonio Puig-jané. They also called for the annulment of legislation which obstructs the investigation of past human rights violations and the bringing of those found responsible to justice.