An Argentinian Roman Catholic priest was sentenced to life imprisonment for being a “co-participant” in seven killings, 31 torture cases, and 42 kidnappings during the military dictatorship of Jorge Rafael Videla from 1976 – 1983. Christian von Wernich, 69, was the former police chaplain to the Buenos Aires police force who participated in the “disappearances” of at least 13,000 people in a campaign against dissenters to the regime. The Argentine “dirty war” was primarily a campaign meant to deter opposition forces and communist influence in the form of trade-unions and student activists. Human rights lawyers said von Wernich participated in withdrawing information from torture victims at secret detention centers.
Judges visited the former torture centers with some of the survivors, and some 70 witnesses testified during the trial that von Wernich assisted in extraordinary interrogation techniques under the guise of offering spiritual guidance to the detainees.
Members of the Founding Line of the Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo, a activist group comprised of mothers of political dissenters killed during the “dirty war” and led the efforts to bring those responsible to trial, hailed the decision by the court. “Justice has been done. The Catholic Church was an accomplice,” a member of the group declared after the verdict.
Defense attorneys claim that the case against von Wernich was an ideological attack against the Catholic Church, though the Argentine Catholic Church did not issue any statements during the trial. Its Episcopal Conference, however, issued a statement on its Web site saying it was moved by the conviction of serious crimes against humanity against von Wernich. The Catholic Church, though, did not speak to criticism regarding its failure to defend human rights during the “dirty war.” Critics accuse the Church of supporting and assisting the military dictatorship, as well as opting to not disclose the brutality.
Key witnesses to the trial, Jorge Julio Lopez, a survivor of the detention facilities, and Miguel Etchecolatz, a former police chief convicted of abuses in 2006, have disappeared and many fear they have been abducted or killed.
Argentina's Supreme Court overturned a series of 1980's laws granting amnesty to officials involved in human rights abuses during the “dirty war.” The 2005 ruling opened the door to investigations into the “disappearances” of 11,000 to 30,000 people.
