AVZ
03-03-2004, 09:09 AM
Germany Requests Argentina Extradite Former Dictator
Germany is seeking the extradition of three high-ranking figures from Argentina's former military dictatorship, among them former president Jorge Videla. They're accused of having a role in the deaths of two Germans.
The German Foreign Ministry told DW-WORLD on Tuesday that a request had been relayed to the German embassy in Buenos Aires to have Jorge Videla, Emilio Massera and Guillermo Suárez Mason extradicted to Germany to stand trial. The three are facing charges of indirect murder in the deaths in Argentina of German students Elisabeth Käsemann, murdered in 1977, and Klaus Zieschank, killed in 1976.
The extradiction document is scheduled to be delivered to Argentinian authorities in the next few days.
According to a ministry spokeswoman in Berlin, the request represents the government's policy of "pursuing all measures that will serve to clarify the fates of German citizens who disappeared during Argentina's military dictatorship."
Suárez Mason, an amy chief, Videla, an army commander who headed a military coup in 1976 and served as president for the next five years, and Massera, a junta member and navy commander, and are already under house arrest in Argentina on charges of political murder and steading and putting up the babies of their victims for adoption. The three, all in their late seventies, remain out of prison because of advanced age and ill health.
Human rights work vindicated
In January of this year, the Nuremberg prosecutor's office issued international arrest warrants against the men, having taken up the case on basis on a human rights group in Bavaria, the Coalition Against Impunity, which represents the families of German victims of the Argentine dictatorship. It welcomed the decision of the government.
"It means we've reached one of our goals, which five years ago when we began this work, nobody believed we would," Wolfgang Kaleck, a lawyer for the group, told DW-WORLD.
According to human rights organizations, approximately 30,000 people were abducted and killed by the Argentina's military dictatorship in the late 1970s and early 1980s as the military rooted out leftist opposition in its so-called "dirty war." Among those were some 100 Germans or people of German descent.
Zieschank, a 24-year-old university student from Munich, was arrested a few days after the military coup and tortured before being strangled to death in May 1977, prosecutors allege. Käsemann, another student, was arrested while workeding with political and social groups in Buenos Aires slums. She was tortured and, according to the charges, was shot to death by soldiers just before her 30th birthday.
First extradition request for Videla
This is the first time a country has sought Videla's extradition although Germany had asked that Suárez Mason and two other former military leaders be turned over in 2001. The government in power then, however, denied the request.
It is still not clear whether the extradition will actually take place and a spokeswoman in the Nuremberg prosecutors suggested chances are slight that Videla will be sent over for trial. But she added that the extradition request would send a signal that Germany expects a trial to take place against Videla, whose prosecution is still a divisive issue in Argentina.
"We would also welcome a trial in Argentina," Kalek, the lawyer for the victims group, told DW-WORLD.
Amnesty laws in Argentina have meant until recently those responsible for crimes during the military rule could not be prosecuted. However, in 2003, President Néstor Kirchner and the country's parliament declared the laws invalid.
After the extradition documents are handed over to Argentine authorities, they will be forwarded to Judge Sergio Torres, who will decide whether or not to comply with the request. In doing so, he must consider whether or not the accused could be properly tried at home. Since the country's High Court is currently undergoing reorganization and has not yet made a judgment about the constitutionality of changes to the amnesty laws, it is not clear how Torres will decide. Even if he does rule in favor of the extradition, the Argentine government could refuse to hand over the men.http://dw-world.de/dwelle/allgemein/bilder_show/0,3772,73636_1,00.jpg
Germany is seeking the extradition of three high-ranking figures from Argentina's former military dictatorship, among them former president Jorge Videla. They're accused of having a role in the deaths of two Germans.
The German Foreign Ministry told DW-WORLD on Tuesday that a request had been relayed to the German embassy in Buenos Aires to have Jorge Videla, Emilio Massera and Guillermo Suárez Mason extradicted to Germany to stand trial. The three are facing charges of indirect murder in the deaths in Argentina of German students Elisabeth Käsemann, murdered in 1977, and Klaus Zieschank, killed in 1976.
The extradiction document is scheduled to be delivered to Argentinian authorities in the next few days.
According to a ministry spokeswoman in Berlin, the request represents the government's policy of "pursuing all measures that will serve to clarify the fates of German citizens who disappeared during Argentina's military dictatorship."
Suárez Mason, an amy chief, Videla, an army commander who headed a military coup in 1976 and served as president for the next five years, and Massera, a junta member and navy commander, and are already under house arrest in Argentina on charges of political murder and steading and putting up the babies of their victims for adoption. The three, all in their late seventies, remain out of prison because of advanced age and ill health.
Human rights work vindicated
In January of this year, the Nuremberg prosecutor's office issued international arrest warrants against the men, having taken up the case on basis on a human rights group in Bavaria, the Coalition Against Impunity, which represents the families of German victims of the Argentine dictatorship. It welcomed the decision of the government.
"It means we've reached one of our goals, which five years ago when we began this work, nobody believed we would," Wolfgang Kaleck, a lawyer for the group, told DW-WORLD.
According to human rights organizations, approximately 30,000 people were abducted and killed by the Argentina's military dictatorship in the late 1970s and early 1980s as the military rooted out leftist opposition in its so-called "dirty war." Among those were some 100 Germans or people of German descent.
Zieschank, a 24-year-old university student from Munich, was arrested a few days after the military coup and tortured before being strangled to death in May 1977, prosecutors allege. Käsemann, another student, was arrested while workeding with political and social groups in Buenos Aires slums. She was tortured and, according to the charges, was shot to death by soldiers just before her 30th birthday.
First extradition request for Videla
This is the first time a country has sought Videla's extradition although Germany had asked that Suárez Mason and two other former military leaders be turned over in 2001. The government in power then, however, denied the request.
It is still not clear whether the extradition will actually take place and a spokeswoman in the Nuremberg prosecutors suggested chances are slight that Videla will be sent over for trial. But she added that the extradition request would send a signal that Germany expects a trial to take place against Videla, whose prosecution is still a divisive issue in Argentina.
"We would also welcome a trial in Argentina," Kalek, the lawyer for the victims group, told DW-WORLD.
Amnesty laws in Argentina have meant until recently those responsible for crimes during the military rule could not be prosecuted. However, in 2003, President Néstor Kirchner and the country's parliament declared the laws invalid.
After the extradition documents are handed over to Argentine authorities, they will be forwarded to Judge Sergio Torres, who will decide whether or not to comply with the request. In doing so, he must consider whether or not the accused could be properly tried at home. Since the country's High Court is currently undergoing reorganization and has not yet made a judgment about the constitutionality of changes to the amnesty laws, it is not clear how Torres will decide. Even if he does rule in favor of the extradition, the Argentine government could refuse to hand over the men.http://dw-world.de/dwelle/allgemein/bilder_show/0,3772,73636_1,00.jpg