[JURIST] A former Argentinean army officer and two adoptive parents were convicted Friday of kidnapping and falsifying the identity [JURIST report] of Maria Eugenia Sampallo Barragan, a woman who was kidnapped during the 1976-1983 "Dirty War" [Global Security backgrounder; JURIST news archive]. The court sentenced Sampallo Barragan's adoptive parents to eight years in prison, and the army officer to ten years. Sampallo Barragan recovered her identity in 2000 when she took part in a DNA testing program sponsored by the Grandmothers of the Plaza de Mayo [organization website]. After learning her identity in 2001, she filed charges against her parents.

While several other cases have dealt with the abduction of children [BBC report] by Argentinean military agents in the 1970s, this marks the first in which charges were brought by the adopted child. The most notable case resulted in the 1998 conviction of General Jorge Videla [BBC report], the former leader of Argentina's military junta. Videla is still serving a term of house arrest. AP has more.