Forty years after the historic verdict in the trial of the juntas The magnitude of this judgment, signed on December 9, 1985 by the National Penal and Correctional Chamber of the Federation, continues to mark a back and forth in Argentina’s legal and political history. The verdict, that condemned those most responsible for the last military dictatorshipnot only brought to justice those who were in power between 1976 and 1983, but also set a global precedent for the prosecution of crimes committed by a de facto regime.
The text of the sentence, 1,578 pagesbecame an international reference document. Much of its length is due to the sheen of some parts seven hundred paradigmatic casesfrom Adriana Calvo de Laborde to Gladys Evarista Cuervo.
The judgment signed by the judges León Carlos Arslanian, Jorge Torlasco, Ricardo Gil Lavedra, Jorge Valerga Aráoz, Guillermo Ledesma, Andrés D’Alessio and the secretary Juan Carlos Lopezwas read to an audience broadcast live on radio and television, in a context of strong military and social pressure This limited the audiovisual distribution of the trial.
The trial, which began on April 22, 1985, was the result of complex political and legal manipulation by the president Raul Alfonsin. After taking office on December 10, 1983, Alfonsín ordered that the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces convict those responsible for human rights violations and appealed to the Federal Chamber. This required an amendment to the Military Justice Act, amid intense parliamentary debates and the persistence of military powerwhich manifested itself in several subsequent uprisings.
The National Commission on Enforced Disappearances (CONADEP)chaired by Ernesto Sabato, played a central role in collecting testimonies from some ten thousand cases of kidnapping, torture and enforced disappearance. The “Never Again” report became the evidentiary basis of the trial and a landmark of collective memory. The public prosecutor’s office headed by Julio Cesar Strassera and supported by Luis Gabriel Moreno Ocamposelected 709 cases for impeachment, which the House of Representatives was considering 282.
During the hearings, which lasted until August 14, they stated 833 witnesses – 287 women and 546 men, including 64 members of the Wehrmacht. The first statement was that of Adriana Calvo de Labordewho recounted the birth of her daughter in a handcuffed and blindfolded patrol car on the way to the secret Banfield Well center. The stories of the victims and relatives reconstructed the repressive machinery installed in secret detention centers across the country.
The court, made up of judges with varying political affinities and judicial experience, had to contend not only with the scale of the crimes but also with unprecedented public exposure Pressure from sectors that still defended illegal oppression. However, the transparency of the process was ensured by its oral and public nature Only three minutes of pictures without sound were allowed after hearing, recorded by the state Argentine Color Television (ATC). The complete file, 530 hours, It was stored in an anti-nuclear safe in the Norwegian Parliament. and in other institutions for fear of their destruction.
The judgment, preceded by an introduction written by Arslanian, found that the commanders of the armed forces, Although they had legal tools to combat terrorism, they opted for secret and illegal procedures.
The judgment continues: “It has been shown that despite the counting of the commanders of the armed forces who took power on March 24, 1976, using all legal instruments and means to lawfully carry out the repressionWithout sacrificing efficiency, the decision was made to implement secret and illegal procedures on the basis of orders issued by the defendants as part of their respective orders.”
The court rejected the justifications put forward by the defense and affirmed the criminal responsibility of each commander for the orders given and crimes committed by his subordinates. The events were found to include violent arrests, secret detentions, torture interrogations and, in many cases, the physical elimination of victimsaccompanied by the looting of goods.
The sentences fell Jorge Rafael Videla And Emilio Eduardo Massera (eternal seclusion and eternal disqualification), Roberto Eduardo Viola (Seventeen years in prison), Armando Lambruschini (eight years) and Orlando Ramon Agosti (four years). The crimes proven were unlawful deprivation of liberty, torture and robbery. The other four defendants –Omar Graffigna, Leopoldo Galtieri, Jorge Isaac Anaya and Basilio Lami Dozo– were acquitted due to lack of sufficient evidence.
In the last point of the judgment, the judges say They ordered an investigation into the zone and subzone heads and all those with “operational responsibility for the actions.” This opens the next phase of prosecution to other individuals responsible for the repression.
Strassera’s final argument, turned into a manifesto, summed up the historical significance of the trial: “Because of this trial and the condemnation that I support, we have the responsibility to establish a peace based not on forgetfulness but on memory, not on violence but on justice.” This is our chance and it could be our last.”. He concluded his query with the phrase that became a national symbol: “Dear judges: ‘Never again’”.
The trial against the committees It was the first trial in which the Argentine civil justice system convicted military personnel for crimes committed during a dictatorship. Although the number of crimes against humanity was not yet included in the criminal code, the convicted offenses resulted in convictions for aggravated homicide, unlawful deprivation of liberty, torture, and robbery, including the confiscation of property belonging to the disappeared.
The sentence criticized by some political circles was internationally recognized as a milestone in the fight for human rights and the consolidation of democracy in Argentina.
This Tuesday, at 12 p.m., the Nation’s Justice Department will pay tribute to the judges of the trial against the military juntasArslanian, Gil Lavedra, Ledesma and Valerga Aráoz and in memory of D’Alessio, Torlasco and the prosecutor Strassera.
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