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June 1998 |
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| Index | E-mail | Resources |
June 1998 |
Looking for Justice Abroad
For sometime after Argentina passed the two amnesty laws on behalf of human rights violators in the late 1980’s - it seemed that the human rights violations that took place during the “Dirty war” would go completely un-investigated and un-punished. But faced with a political system that refused to accept the rule of law, some of the families of the disappeared have looked outside the borders of Argentina for justice.France was one of the first countries to institute judicial procedures against an Argentine Navy man believed responsible for the disappearances and deaths of two French Nuns during the dictatorship. Alfredo Astiz was tried in absentia in France, and found guilty of murder. Though he is still free - he cannot leave Argentina for fear of being arrested and extradited into France.
Judicial procedures in other countries are still in the investigatory stages, though a number of military leaders have been indicted. In Italy, the investigations have lead to preliminary hearings in the cases of the eight disappeared Italian citizens in Argentina - and a trial against the Argentine military responsible for their disappearances is likely to start this year. However, the cases of dozens of more of Italian disappeared were closed - and the lawyers for the victims found that the prosecutors were very reluctant to try the cases.
In Spain, Judge Baltazar Garzón has been investigating the disappearances of Spanish citizens in Argentina for about two years. He has heard testimony from dozens of families of disappeared people, as well as from survivors of the “clandestine detention camps”, where the disappeared where kept and tortured prior to their deaths. Retired Captain Adolfo Scilingo, a repentant member of the Navy who participated in flights in which drugged prisoners were thrown alive into the ocean, also testified as to the organization of the repressive apparatus within the Navy. Judge Garzón has issued international arrest orders against members of the Argentinian military, but only Scilingo has been arrested so far. While these procedures have been extremely useful in uncovering the truth about the disappearances, these investigations are now in danger. The Spanish prosecutors have challenged the jurisdiction of the Spanish courts to hear this case, and it will now be up to the National Audience to decide. While the jurisdiction of the Italian courts is firmly set in the penal code, the jurisdiction of the Spanish courts is more problematic. The court bases its jurisdiction on Spanish laws and treaties that confer to it jurisdiction over genocide, terrorism and torture. Judge Garzón has gone characterized what took place in Argentina as genocide - his most novel argument being that the victims of the repression were persecuted for having religious beliefs contrary to the Christian-conservative ideology that the military sought to impose in Argentina. The repression in Argentina was much aided by involvement from the Catholic hierarchy, which included telling members of the military that it was their Christian duty to murder their victims and being present during torture sessions.
More recently, the families of Germans disappeared during the “Dirty War” have began to initiate similar judicial procedures in Germany. A coalition against impunity representing these families has been organized and has presented a criminal complaint against those responsible to the Ministry of Justice of Germany. German law gives German courts jurisdiction over crimes committed against German citizens in other countries. Though the road to justice abroad is a very difficult one - these procedures have helped to keep the memory of the disappeared alive - and let those responsible know that they will not be able to hide from their crimes.
