Former Argentinean navy officer Captain Alfredo Astiz, who is popularly known as the ‘Angel of Death’, and his former colleague, Captain Jorge Eduardo Acosta, who is known as the ‘Tiger’, have been convicted to life imprisonment for the crimes against humanity, which they committed during the ruthless military rule which existed from 1976 to 1983 in the country.
As per the report, around thirty thousand people were killed during the merciless military rule led by General Jorge Rafael Videla.
There were allegations that during the military rule, which was established to eliminate the threat posed by the aggressive communism, several communist activists were killed in the torture or concentration camps established across the country.
Esma was one such camp, which were clandestinely operated by the military in the pretext of running a military establishment.
The convicted captains are among the fifty four officers who faced the court trial for the brutal crimes committed at the aforementioned camp.
Actually, there were sixty people in the actual case file. But, six of them were declared dead or unfit to face a trial.
Of the fifty four people, the serious punishment of life imprisonment has been given to twenty-nine people; jail term ranging from eight to twenty-five years has been given to nineteen people; rest of them has been acquitted from the charges such as crimes against humanity.
Only ten per cent of the total people brought into this camp by the military regime had the luck to survive the camp.
The survivors and the family members of those killed in the camp have gathered outside the court to follow the court process. As per the report, they have expressed happiness in the court’s verdict.
Noteworthy, the ‘Angel of Death’ has been unapologetic about the crimes he committed, and has persistently claimed that he done it to save the country from the left-wing terrorism.
Vignesh. S. G
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