Argentine foreign minister, former prisoner of dictatorship, describes crimes against humanity

[Judi Lynn]

Argentine foreign minister, former prisoner of dictatorship, describes crimes against humanity
By Associated Press
7:17 p.m. EDT, May 11, 2010

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — Argentina's foreign minister testified Tuesday as a witness in a trial involving crimes against humanity inside a prison where he and other political prisoners were held during the military dictatorship.

Jorge Taiana, who spent nearly three years in the Unit 9 prison in the provincial capital of La Plata, described mistreatment in the prison, including once on Dec. 13, 1976, when "they made us come out of our cells with our heads down and our hands behind us, to shouts and blows."

"They took us to a ceremonial room, took away all our clothes. It was a violent imposition — there were blows," he told a panel of judges trying 14 former prison officials accused of various crimes during the 1976-1983 dictatorship. "I saw it all."

Other political prisoners held in the Unit 9 prison included prominent human rights lawyer Carlos Slepoy and Nobel Peace Prize winner Adolfo Perez Esquivel. According to official figures, 13,000 people were killed by the dictatorship, although human rights groups believe as many as 30,000 died.

More:
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/nation-world/sns-ap-lt-argentina-dirty-war,0,3501493.story

[Wilms]

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