Carlos Menem during his presidency (Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons)

On Friday, 31st May, Prosecutor Marcelo Agüero Vera of Argentina’s Economic Court 3 sentenced former President Carlos Menem to eight years in prison for illegally selling weapons to Croatia and Ecuador during his time in office.

Oscar Camilión, who served as the late president’s defense minister received a seven year sentence.

At least three other ex-governmental ministers of the Menem administration are to serve jail time for conspiracy.

The defendants appeared before the Economic Criminal Court last week in its first hearing since March when the Court of Appeals overturned an annulment of the sentence brought about by the defense.

Vera’s decision regarding the prison terms was announced Friday after the court rejected a separate complaint filed by Menem’s lawyer, Maximiliano Rusconi.

Now the tribunal must review and approve Vera’s proposal before the prison terms are final. The court should announce a decision regarding the length of the prison terms and their respective start dates after it examines four more related criminal charges this week.

During the 1989-99 Menem administration, 6,500 tonnes of weapons officially destined to Panamá and Venezuela, landed in Croatia during the former Yugoslavia conflict. Many weapons also ended up in Ecuador during the country’s 1995 border dispute with Perú.

Menem claims that he “only signed arm export decrees” to Venezuela and Panamá during his time as president. The 82-year-old former leader is now a senator and has already served six months in prison for charges relating to the same crime- conspiracy to sell weapons, before being freed following a ruling by the Supreme Court.

Prosecutors are currently trying to remove the parliamentary immunity that protects Menem and Camilión from serving jail time.

Three former military officials during the 1976-83 dictatorship were found guilty of crimes against humanity yesterday in the first trial for such crimes in the northwestern province of Jujuy.

The Federal Court of Jujuy (TOF) sentenced two former military officials, Mariano Rafael Braga and José Eduardo Bulgheroni, to life imprisonment. Meanwhile, the third defendant Antonio Orlando Vargas received a sentence of 25 years in prison, according to the Judicial Information Center (CIJ).

The Court found the first two defendants guilty of numerous murders and the third one of illegal deprivation of freedom and aggravated torture in several cases. The heads of trial were judges René Vicente Casas and Marcelo Juárez Almaraz. Before reading the decisive part of the judgment, TOF rejected all the arguments presented by the defendants and considered the facts of the case as “crimes against humanity” and therefore impossible to fall under statute of limitations.

Human rights organisations, relatives and witnesses, were satisfied with the verdict – both in and out of the courtroom. After waiting for 35 years, some 30,000 people gathered around the Court House to celebrate a day of justice with hugs and tears.

Braga will be transferred to the Marcos Paz prison to serve his sentence, Vargas will stay in Ezeiza. Bulgheroni, for health reasons, will go to Prison Unit 7 in the city of Resistencia, Chaco.

Braga and Bulgheroni were military intelligence officers during the military dictatorship, and Vargas worked as a supervisor in the Jujuy Prison, which at the time was serving as a clandestine detention centre.

An estimated 130 people were disappeared in Jujuy during the dictatorship. Alongside this trial, the Ledesma case - investigating the kidnapping of workers at a sugar company based in Jujuy - is looking into civilian involvement in the disappearances.

José Pedraza, head of the Railway Workers’ Union (UF), was sentenced yesterday to 15 years in prison for the murder of Partido Obrero (PO) activist Mariano Ferreyra in 2010. Another 13 people were convicted, and three were acquitted.

Flags calling for justice in the trial of Mariano Ferreyra’s murder. (Photo: Patricio Murphy)

Mariano Ferreyra was killed on 20th October 2010, during a protest in which left-wing PO activists were supporting outsourced contract workers at the Roca train line who were demanding better conditions and the reincorporation of laid off workers. The protesters were met near the Avellaneda train station by a group of UF thugs, who threatened them and threw stones at them. As the protesters decided to end their action, the UF gang opened fire, killing Ferreyra and leaving three other protesters wounded.

Pedraza’s right-hand man at UF, Juan Carlos ‘Gallego’ Fernández, was also sentenced to 15 years in prison, while those accused of firing the gun that killed Ferreyra, barrabravas Cristian Favale and Gabriel ‘Payaso’ Sánchez, as well as unionist Pablo Díaz, who was considered to have led the UF gang, will serve an 18-year sentence.

The verdict for the trial that started in August last year was read on Friday after 6.30pm, over an hour and a half later than expected, after a long and tense wait. Representatives from political parties and human rights organisations filled the court, while protesters held a day-long vigil outside, holding banners that read ‘Justice for Mariano’ and ‘Life [sentence] for Pedraza’.

Although the full ruling will be known on 17th June, the head of the court, judge Horacio Días, spent over an hour explaining the grounds for the decision, before finally reading the verdict. In his explanation, Días stated that while there was no “direct evidence” of Pedraza’s involvement, there were “hints” that indicated his participation in the murder in order to protect his own political and economic interests. However, they considered that there was not enough evidence to suggest that Pedraza had explicitly ordered the shooters to kill Ferreyra, thus rejecting the plaintiff’s demand that he be charged with instigating the murder. Pedraza will also have to face charges for attempting to bribe judges in order to free UF members implicated in the murder.

The judges found that the movilisation of UF workers on 20th October 2010 had not been “spontaneous”, and that they were able to act with impunity as they counted with the complicity of the Federal Police, which had “freed” the area. Four policemen received sentences of between two and 10 years, while one was acquitted and another one was let off with a $12,500 fine.

Other union delegates were sentenced to between eight and 11 years in jail for their roles in the murder, and two railway workers were acquitted.

The judges dismissed the claims by the surviving victims’ legal team regarding Labour Minister Carlos Tomada’s alleged involvement. A recorded telephone conversation between Pedraza and Tomada, in which the latter justifies himself for not having returned “some 40 calls” from the union leader, shows that the minister was “trying to get rid of [Pedraza]” rather than collaborating with him, according to Días.

Jose Pedraza enters the courtroom at the beginning of the trial (Photo: Patricio Murphy)

The reactions to the verdict were mixed. PO leader Jorge Altamira was not satisfied with the ruling, which he considered to be “completely contradictory”. “[The ruling] is full of incredible fallacies and fails to investigate the responsibility of one of the state’s branches, in order to save [labour] minister Carlos Tomada and to disassociate the police. The ruling exposes things in a way in which it reveals the existence of a criminal plan and then tries to deny it (…) [It] is not up to the standard demanded by Argentine society.”

Horacio Verbitsky, president of the Centre for Legal and Social Studies (CELS) which acted as Ferreyra’s mother’s legal representative, said instead that “[The judge's] exposition was very serious and with a very clear, direct language, laid out logically and well-founded. We had requested a life sentence [for Pedraza] for instigation and first-degree murder. There are technical details, and to be able to give a well-founded opinion we must read the full ruling, but 15 years for Pedraza is not a minor sentence. For the family everything is insufficient and, while we don’t agree with everything, we think it’s a very important ruling.”

Pablo Ferreyra, Mariano’s brother, took to Twitter yesterday to express the family’s feelings after the ruling. He said that the position of the family is “positive”, adding that “It’s the satisfaction of knowing that Pedraza is responsible for Mariano’s cruel murder and he’s sentenced to 15 years. A ruling that can be improved, until we have the grounds [for the decision] we will keep acting with the sensibility we’ve had since the very beginning and we’ll appeal everything that we find should be improved. But, as hours go by, we feel fine because the business-unionists, the thugs, and the police are being jointly punished, respecting the idea of one plan put together from the top of the UF. The underlying issues of tercerización [outsourcing of employees], police corruption, and impunity can find a limit thanks to this sentence. There are things to highlight, others to question. We only ask for respect for our opinions, and the time to mature this ruling in our heads. Let’s not lose sight of the historical importance of this day… The day Pedraza was sentenced for the murder of Mariano Ferreyra.”

Today, at 6pm at the University in Bahía Blanca, sentences for those of the Fifth Military Unit who performed crimes against humanity during the military dictatorship will be announced. Torture victims and relatives of the disappeared, as well as their supporters, are planning to rally outside the facility calling for justice.

The presiding judge to pass the first round of sentences, Jorge Ferro, was joined with colleagues to evaluate evidence over the past 14 months. Evidence spanned kidnappings, torture, killings, and other heinous crimes performed by 17 members of the military group during the military dictatorship of 1976-83.

The federal prosecutor, Abel Córdoba, called for life sentences for 14 of the 17 defendants.

The day begins at 9am with a final testament from Colonel Jorge Granada, the former leader of the Secret Intelligence Unit for Psychological Activity, and his colleague, Luis Patti. During the afternoon, there will be a live and open radio program, as well there will be a demonstration of 30,000 mini-paintings of faces. At 6pm, the court will make the final announcement of the sentences for those involved in Case 982.

Today, those charged have also been given a moment for final words by Ferro.

“I am innocent. Nothing more,” said Osvaldo Páez, labelled as the main actor in accusations of torture. Walter Tejada insisted that he had prevented war with Chile, saying that his actions were against “subversive terrorists”.

Mario Méndez insisted that he was following orders, whilst his companion, Jorge Masson, agreed, saying that “you don’t think about them nor contradict them: you follow them”.

Case 982, known as ‘Bayon, Juan Manuel et al.’, began in May 2011 with the aim of addressing crimes against humanity performed by the government during a time of “State Terrorism”.

Within the document, it states that there are 807 people who have been registered and are being processed for their crimes. Of the 807, 454 of these are in the process of being brought to justice or at least are being evaluated at the judicial level.

Apart from those in Case 982, there are another 389 that have been sentenced at a higher level and 65 who have other judicial cases against them.

Romina Tejerina was released from prison yesterday morning after serving 9 years for the murder of her newborn child. Tejerina became a national feminist symbol when she conceived after a rape but was denied an abortion.

Tejerina gave birth secretly in her sisters bathroom seven months after conception and moments later, killed the child by placing her in a cardboard box and stabbing it 20 times. The baby died in a hospital two days later. Her rapist has never been convicted

Tejerina’s case went to court in 2005, two years after she was raped and gave birth to her unwanted baby. The Criminal Court of Jujuy unanimously decided on a sentence of 14 years to be served in the Penal de Mujeres Alto Comedero de San Salvador de Jujuy. The Prosecution initially called for a life sentence but reduced this on the basis of mitigating factors.

Tejerina, who was 19 at the time of her rape, hid the violation and subsequent pregnancy from everyone but her sister. She has accused Eduardo Vargas, a businessman and brother of a local politician, of raping her in 2002 but Vargas denies this, claiming the relationship was consensual. He has never been convicted of the crime.

Fernando Molina, Tejerina’s defence lawyer, claimed this was unjust and pointed to the deep psychological trauma suffered by the young woman as a result of her rape and pregnancy. She has become a figurehead for society and feminist groups who argue for the recognition of her rape and suffering. Her inability to be granted an abortion sparked debate across argentine society about women’s rights.

“Romina’s face is the visible face of pain that touches the lives of many women” said her sister, Mirta Tejerina, “This isn’t just one person’s problem, it’s a problem that faces us all.”

Tejerina was released yesterday according to the terms of her sentence. She was liberated on the day of her 29^th birthday, 7 years after her conviction.