A general was convicted of murder and sent to prison on Monday, becoming the first active member of Uruguay’s military to be jailed for human rights violations committed during the country’s 1973 to 1985 dictatorship.
General Miguel Dalmao was ordered into preventive detention pending appeal of his conviction in the 1974 death of a communist in military custody, a process that will likely take months. If confirmed, the final sentence could be for up to 30 years.
Also imprisoned was Colonel Jose Chialanza, who like Dalmao was convicted of “especially aggravated homicide” in the death of Nibia Sabalsagaray, Supreme Court spokesman Raul Oxandabarat said.
INNOCENT?
Dalmao, who has repeatedly declared his innocence, commands the Uruguayan army’s 4th Division.
Uruguay’s top army general, Jorge Rosales, said last week that he believes Dalmao is innocent. The army made no immediate comment on Monday’s verdict.
Sabalsagaray was found hanged in her cell shortly after being captured. At the time, Chialanza was a battalion commander and Dalmao was a lieutenant in charge of gathering intelligence on suspected subversives. Both men said she hanged herself.
Both the military and leftist guerrillas were granted amnesty for dictatorship-era crimes as democracy was restored, and the amnesties have been repeatedly upheld in voter referendums.
But in October last year, Uruguay’s Supreme Court declared them unconstitutional, reasoning that only the courts — not the executive branch — can grant amnesty. Each alleged crime must be considered by the courts on a case-by-case basis, the justices said.
NOT SUICIDE
Prosecutor Mirtha Guianze and lawyers for Sabalsagaray’s family presented evidence that they said ruled out suicide.
On Monday, Judge Rolando Vomero agreed.
A dozen Uruguayan military figures have been prosecuted for crimes against humanity, but all were committed outside Uruguay, particularly in Argentina, where about 150 Uruguayans disappeared.
Former dictator Juan Maria Bordaberry was also convicted for his role in the 1973 coup that ushered in military rule. But all other crimes committed inside Uruguay had been protected by amnesties — until now.
CONFRONTATION: The water cannon attack was the second this month on the Philippine supply boat ‘Unaizah May 4,’ after an incident on March 5 The China Coast Guard yesterday morning blocked a Philippine supply vessel and damaged it with water cannons near a reef off the Southeast Asian country, the Philippines said. The Philippine military released video of what it said was a nearly hour-long attack off the Second Thomas Shoal (Renai Shoal, 仁愛暗沙) in the contested South China Sea, where Chinese ships have unleashed water cannons and collided with Philippine vessels in similar standoffs in the past few months. The China Coast Guard and other vessels “once again harassed, blocked, deployed water cannons, and executed dangerous maneuvers” against a routine rotation and resupply mission to
GLOBAL COMBAT AIR PROGRAM: The potential purchasers would be limited to the 15 nations with which Tokyo has signed defense partnership and equipment transfer deals Japan’s Cabinet yesterday approved a plan to sell future next-generation fighter jets that it is developing with the UK and Italy to other nations, in the latest move away from the country’s post-World War II pacifist principles. The contentious decision to allow international arms sales is expected to help secure Japan’s role in the joint fighter jet project, and is part of a move to build up the Japanese arms industry and bolster its role in global security. The Cabinet also endorsed a revision to Japan’s arms equipment and technology transfer guidelines to allow coproduced lethal weapons to be sold to nations
Thousands of devotees, some in a state of trance, gathered at a Buddhist temple on the outskirts of Bangkok renowned for sacred tattoos known as Sak Yant, paying their respects to a revered monk who mastered the practice and seeking purification. The gathering at Wat Bang Phra Buddhist temple is part of a Thai Wai Khru ritual in which devotees pay homage to Luang Phor Pern, the temple’s formal abbot, who died in 2002. He had a reputation for refining and popularizing the temple’s Sak Yant tattoo style. The idea that tattoos confer magical powers has existed in many parts of Asia
ON ALERT: A Russian cruise missile crossed into Polish airspace for about 40 seconds, the Polish military said, adding that it is constantly monitoring the war to protect its airspace Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, and the western region of Lviv early yesterday came under a “massive” Russian air attack, officials said, while a Russian cruise missile breached Polish airspace, the Polish military said. Russia and Ukraine have been engaged in a series of deadly aerial attacks, with yesterday’s strikes coming a day after the Russian military said it had seized the Ukrainian village of Ivanivske, west of Bakhmut. A militant attack on a Moscow concert hall on Friday that killed at least 133 people also became a new flash point between the two archrivals. “Explosions in the capital. Air defense is working. Do not