JURIST - Paper Chase: Argentine naval officer convicted for 'Dirty War' crimes

[JURIST] A former Argentine naval officer was convicted Tuesday of crimes against humanity by a Spanish court and sentenced to 640 years in prison. Adolfo Scilingo [Time magazine profile] was found guilty of being aboard planes from which 30 people were thrown to their deaths during Argentina's military rule from 1976 to 1983. The trial [BBC News report] was the first in Spain under a new law that allows the country to prosecute for crimes committed in other countries. Scilingo agreed to go to Spain in 1997 to testify about atrocities that were committed under the military regimes in Argentina and Chile, known as the "Dirty War" [Wikipedia article]. He admitted to being aboard two flights from which prisoners were thrown into the ocean, testimony he later retracted [JURIST report] after being charged [JURIST report]. A three-judge National Court found him guilty and issued the sentence, which is limited to 30 years under Spanish law regardless of the initial sentence. The American Society of International Law has background on the case. La Nacion has local coverage [in Spanish] from Argentina. BBC News has more.

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