Judge Orders Arrest In Argentine Genocide

A Spanish judge ordered a former Argentine naval officer jailed Friday after he admitted in court that he hurled people to their deaths from airplanes during Argentina’s “dirty war.”

Former Lt. Commander Adolfo Scilingo’s admissions were made during four days of testimony this week before a judge investigating the disappearances of 600 Spaniards during Argentina’s 1976-1983 war on leftists.

Judge Baltasar Garzon ordered Scilingo jailed without bail Friday on charges of genocide and terrorism, the state news agency EFE said. He was to be taken to Carabanchel Prison outside Madrid.

Garzon also will seek international arrest warrants for 10 other former high-ranking Argentine officers, including former Adm. Emilio Massera, the report said. Massera, a member of the Argentine junta at the time, was sentenced to life imprisonment in 1987, but was pardoned by Argentine President Carlos Menem three years later.

At least 9,000 suspected leftists were arrested, tortured and never seen again during the “dirty war.”