- Title: Ex-army general fronts court in Argentina for alleged Dirty War crimes
- Date: 14th February 2017
- Summary: BUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINA (FILE) (REUTERS) MILANI DURING NATIONAL ANTHEM AUDIENCE APPLAUDING
- Embargoed: 28th February 2017 22:34
- Keywords: former army general Cesar Milani trial Argentina human rights Dirty War
- Location: BUENOS AIRES AND TUCUMAN, ARGENTINA
- City: BUENOS AIRES AND TUCUMAN, ARGENTINA
- Country: Argentina
- Topics: Crime/Law/Justice,Crime
- Reuters ID: LVA00463HVBCZ
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: EDITORS PLEASE NOTE: THIS EDIT CONTAINS MATERIAL WHICH WAS ORIGINALLY 4:3
Argentina's former army chief Cesar Milani fronted court in the city of Tucuman on Tuesday (February 14) in connection with the kidnapping and disappearance of soldier Alberto Ledo during the country's 1976-1983 military dictatorship.
Milani, 62, resigned from his post in the military in 2015 after a career that has been dogged by allegations of human rights abuses. But accusations that he had a reported role in the disappearance of Ledo has followed the former soldier since his retirement.
Speaking at the courthouse where Milani attended a hearing, his lawyer Gustavo Feldman told media his client was not present during the kidnapping.
"Regarding the explanation of his absence, explaining that he did not and could not have participated in this incident (kidnapping)," he said.
But Ledo's family argue that evidence points to a link between Ledo and Milani.
"We, and the lawyer, know that he made statements, that he knew my brother, that he did not report it, denying all evidence in the file. We continue with the slow process of justice that fills us with anger," said Graciela Ledo, the sister of the kidnapped soldier.
Rights groups say up to 30,000 people "disappeared" - a euphemism for kidnapped and murdered - during the Argentine dictatorship, which began in March 1976 when former army commander Jorge Videla and two other military leaders staged a coup against President Maria Estela Martinez de Peron, the widow of former leader Juan Domingo Peron.
Milani had a prominent role in the military during the country's Dirty War, activists argue.
Since 2005, following the repeal of two amnesty laws shielding military offers from prosecution for their Dirty War crimes, Argentine activists have sought to prosecute those suspected of human rights violations. - Copyright Holder: FILE REUTERS (CAN SELL)
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