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2 Generals Convicted Of Senator's Murder

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The Associated Press

Published: August 29, 2008

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina - An Argentine court convicted two former generals on Thursday for the murder of a senator during the country's seven-year military dictatorship and sentenced them to life in prison.

Retired Gens. Antonio Bussi and Luciano Menendez were found guilty of kidnapping, torturing and murdering Sen. Guillermo Vargas Aignasse.
Judge Gabriel Casas referred to their actions as "crimes against humanity." He read the verdict to cheers from the courtroom audience in the country's northern Tucuman province, where the victim served as senator.

Bussi, 82, will be allowed to remain under house arrest because he is over 75. That decision enraged human rights activists outside the courtroom, who threw rocks and swatted at police with sticks. Police in riot gear used tear gas to restrain the angry crowd.

Vargas Aignasse was 35 years old when he disappeared on the day of a March 24, 1976 military coup. The military later said they had released him from prison, but he was never seen again.
Government estimates say anywhere from 13,000 to 30,000 people were killed in a crackdown on leftist activists during the seven-year dictatorship.

Menendez, who is 81, will continue serving his sentence of life in prison in jail in another province, where he was convicted in July of human rights violations.

In his final words to the court, Menendez defended the actions of the armed forces.

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