Uruguay’s last military dictator, Gregorio Alvarez, was given a 25-year prison sentence on Thursday for murder and rights violations during his 1981-1985 rule, which was marked by oppression and disappearances.
Alvarez, 83, was handed the sentence by a judge who found him responsible for 37 “aggravated homicides,” said Oscar Lopez Goldaracena, a lawyer for the prosecution.
The former ruler was not present in court to hear the sentence because he was ill, suffering diarrhea, the lawyer said, adding that Alvarez might be informed in the prison where he was being held.
Alvarez played a key role in the country’s 1973 coup before going on to be commander-in-chief of the army and ultimately the final president of Uruguay’s civilian-military dictatorship.
The troubled era saw the disappearance of hundreds of political opponents and Alvarez’s sentencing came a year after the first dictator of that period, Juan Maria Bordaberry, was also detained on charges of crimes against humanity.
Alvarez has been in detention since December 2007 when he was found guilty of kidnapping exiled leftist activists living in Argentina who were sent to Uruguay and executed in 1978.
Sentenced on Thursday along with Alvarez was a former navy captain, Juan Carlos Larcebau, who was handed a 20-year term for 29 cases of aggravated homicide, Lopez Goldaracena said.
The homicide charges arose from a decision by the appeals court to convert charges of disappearances to murder, bringing with it the risk of a heavier sentence.
The conviction of Alvarez and Larcebau highlighted a change of position of Uruguay on addressing the crimes of the dictatorship that has already led to judgments against eight former soldiers and police officers in March.
Bordaberry, in power from 1973 to 1976, is awaiting his own verdict.
Many Uruguayans want the reckoning to go further, with a referendum on the issue being held alongside presidential elections tomorrow.
If the referendum’s proposal is passed, a law that currently obliges judges to consult with the government before bringing soldiers and police to court on rights charges will be scrapped.
A survey published on Monday in the daily Ultimas Noticias showed that 47 percent of the public were in favor of the proposal, 40 percent were against and 13 percent had no opinion.
The favorite in the race for the presidency is a former guerrilla, Jose Mujica, who spent the years of the dictatorship in prison.
The developments in Uruguay are seen as bringing it closer to policies in Argentina, which got rid of an amnesty for crimes committed under its own 1976-1983 dictatorship, and Chile, which is prosecuting about 500 soldiers for crimes against humanity carried out during General Augusto Pinochet’s 1973-1990 rule.
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