Argentine judge, first to refer to 1970s Dirty War as genocide, forced to resign by Macri gov't. [View all]

[forest444]

Last edited Sun Oct 23, 2016, 06:11 PM - Edit history (1)

Argentine Federal Judge Carlos Rozanski, best known for presiding the 2006 trial of convicted Dirty War murderer Miguel Etchecolatz, submitted his resignation last Thursday. While reading Etchecolatz's sentencing Judge Rozanski became the first magistrate in Argentina to refer to the 1975-79 Dirty War, during which up to 30,000 dissidents disappeared, as a "genocide."

Judge Rozanski resigned amid an investigation ordered by the Disciplinary and Prosecutorial Commission of the Council of Magistrates for alleged abuse of authority, falsification of public documents, and prevarication. The Council of Magistrates is controlled by President Mauricio Macri's right-wing "Let's Change" alliance.

The investigation follows a complaint by the longtime head of the Judicial Employees' Union, Julio Piumato. Rozanski's attorney, Eduardo Barcesat, noted however that the complaint had been previously filed and found without merit.

"The complaint," Barcesat alleged, "is being revived with the administration's connivance in order to roll back the trials for crimes against humanity currently being presided over by Judge Rozanski. Rozanski had been denouncing ongoing intimidation on the part of the Council of Magistrates and the country's powerful right-wing media since President Macri took office in December.

Rozanski, 65, has presided over the First District Federal Court of La Plata (30 miles SE of Buenos Aires) since 2000. He rose to international prominence during the 2006 trial of former Buenos Aires Province Police Inspector Miguel Etchecolatz, who on September 19 of that year became only the second officer convicted of crimes against humanity after President Néstor Kirchner's signature of a bill rescinding amnesty for such perpetrators in 2003.

The Etchecolatz case has been marked by repeated cases of intimidation against not only the judge, but numerous witnesses as well - notably the late Jorge Julio López, who disappeared the day before Etchecolatz's sentencing to life in prison. More recently, the National Penitentiary Service physician who determined that there were no medical grounds to grant Etchecolatz house arrest, Dr. Virginia Creimer, found her dog stabbed to death in her garden; the bloody knife was left by her front door.

Ten days later, on August 20, a La Plata tribunal granted Etchecolatz house arrest - a ruling condemned by local and international human rights associations.

A scam

At least 36 Dirty War convicts have been granted house arrest since Macri, who described human rights as "a scam" during his 2015 campaign, took office. The pace of prosecutions has likewise slowed dramatically since then.

This approach was further underscored by Defense Minister Julio Martínez's decision to allow Dirty War convicts to be treated in military hospitals (which had been banned due to a numerous escape attempts), as well as by revelations that Justice Minister Germán Garavano had held secret talks in April with Argentina's leading Dirty War apologist, Cecilia Pando.

These developments mark a sharp departure from the Kirchner era, when 2,389 officers were accused, 1,132 arrested, and 681 convicted - marking the first time in world history that human rights abuses were systematically prosecuted (rather than a few top officials).

At: https://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=es&u=http://www.politicargentina.com/notas/201610/17290-despues-de-denunciar-presiones-renuncio-el-juez-federal-que-condeno-a-etchecolatz.html&prev=search

And: https://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=es&tl=en&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.resumenlatinoamericano.org%2F2016%2F08%2F15%2Fargentina-mataron-al-perro-de-la-medica-que-reviso-al-genocida-etchecolatz-convocan-nueva-concentracion-para-rechazar-prision-domiciliaria%2F