Adolfo Scilingo
Encyclopedia
Adolfo Scilingo was an Argentine
naval
officer who is currently serving 30 years (the legally applied limit, although he was sentenced to 640 years) in a Spanish
prison after being convicted on April 19, 2005 for crimes against humanity, including extra-judicial execution.
laws by investigating magistrate
Baltazar Garzón with genocide, 30 counts of murder, 93 of causing injury, 255 of terrorism and 286 of torture. He denied the charges but initially refused to plead, claiming to be unwell. In 2005 Doctors ruled Scilingo was fit to stand trial.
The murder charges related to 30 drugged political prisoners thrown out of government jets during Galtieri's military junta's Dirty War
against leftist insurgents between 1976 and 1983. Scilingo had earlier attracted great notoriety for publicly confessing to journalist Horacio Verbitsky
in c. 1996, to participating in the so-called death flights
, the first of a series of public confessions collectively called in Argentina the 'Scilingo effect' (Feitlowitz 1999). Scilingo was serving a jail term for fraud
in Argentina at the time.
and sentenced him to 640 years in jail. 21 years for each for the murder of 30 victims, who were thrown from planes to their deaths, and a further five years for torture and five years illegal detention. Scilingo is unlikely to serve more than 30 years in jail as that is the maximum time a person can serve for non-terrorist offences.
The Spanish case was the first use of a new Spanish law
whereby people can be prosecuted for crimes committed outside Spain. Scilingo's confession prompted Argentines residing in Spain to press charges against him. It also led to Chileans living in Spain to file charges against their former dictator, Augusto Pinochet
, who was later arrested in Britain at the request of Judge Baltasar Garzon
.
Alicia Gil Gil wrote in 2005 that use of a charge genocide to initiate proceedings, was a breach of the legal principle Nullum crimen, nulla poena sine praevia lege poenali
which forms part of Spain's constitution, because at the time the offence was committed the Spanish provision on crimes against humanity was not yet in force.
On 4 July 2007, the Supreme Court of Spain
increased Scilingo's prison sentence to 1084 years (but effective for only 25 years) and altered the conviction to the specific penalties provided in the current criminal code for the crimes of murder and unlawful detention, but held that these crimes "constitute crimes against humanity according to international law".
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
naval
Navy
A navy is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake- or ocean-borne combat operations and related functions...
officer who is currently serving 30 years (the legally applied limit, although he was sentenced to 640 years) in a Spanish
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
prison after being convicted on April 19, 2005 for crimes against humanity, including extra-judicial execution.
Charges
Scilingo was charged under Spain's universal jurisdictionUniversal jurisdiction
Universal jurisdiction or universality principle is a principle in public international law whereby states claim criminal jurisdiction over persons whose alleged crimes were committed outside the boundaries of the prosecuting state, regardless of nationality, country of residence, or any other...
laws by investigating magistrate
Magistrate
A magistrate is an officer of the state; in modern usage the term usually refers to a judge or prosecutor. This was not always the case; in ancient Rome, a magistratus was one of the highest government officers and possessed both judicial and executive powers. Today, in common law systems, a...
Baltazar Garzón with genocide, 30 counts of murder, 93 of causing injury, 255 of terrorism and 286 of torture. He denied the charges but initially refused to plead, claiming to be unwell. In 2005 Doctors ruled Scilingo was fit to stand trial.
The murder charges related to 30 drugged political prisoners thrown out of government jets during Galtieri's military junta's Dirty War
Dirty War
The Dirty War was a period of state-sponsored violence in Argentina from 1976 until 1983. Victims of the violence included several thousand left-wing activists, including trade unionists, students, journalists, Marxists, Peronist guerrillas and alleged sympathizers, either proved or suspected...
against leftist insurgents between 1976 and 1983. Scilingo had earlier attracted great notoriety for publicly confessing to journalist Horacio Verbitsky
Horacio Verbitsky
Horacio Verbitsky is a prominent Argentine investigative journalist and author. He writes for the left-leaning Argentine newspaper Página/12 and heads up the Center for Legal and Social Studies , an Argentine human-rights organization.He is also a member of the Directive Board of Human Rights...
in c. 1996, to participating in the so-called death flights
Death flights
The death flights were a form of forced disappearance routinely practiced during the Argentine "Dirty War", begun by Admiral Luis María Mendía. Victims of death flights were first drugged into a stupor, hustled aboard fixed-wing aircraft or helicopters, stripped naked and pushed into the Río de la...
, the first of a series of public confessions collectively called in Argentina the 'Scilingo effect' (Feitlowitz 1999). Scilingo was serving a jail term for fraud
Fraud
In criminal law, a fraud is an intentional deception made for personal gain or to damage another individual; the related adjective is fraudulent. The specific legal definition varies by legal jurisdiction. Fraud is a crime, and also a civil law violation...
in Argentina at the time.
Judgement
The court found Scilingo guilty of crimes against humanity and tortureTorture
Torture is the act of inflicting severe pain as a means of punishment, revenge, forcing information or a confession, or simply as an act of cruelty. Throughout history, torture has often been used as a method of political re-education, interrogation, punishment, and coercion...
and sentenced him to 640 years in jail. 21 years for each for the murder of 30 victims, who were thrown from planes to their deaths, and a further five years for torture and five years illegal detention. Scilingo is unlikely to serve more than 30 years in jail as that is the maximum time a person can serve for non-terrorist offences.
The Spanish case was the first use of a new Spanish law
Universal jurisdiction
Universal jurisdiction or universality principle is a principle in public international law whereby states claim criminal jurisdiction over persons whose alleged crimes were committed outside the boundaries of the prosecuting state, regardless of nationality, country of residence, or any other...
whereby people can be prosecuted for crimes committed outside Spain. Scilingo's confession prompted Argentines residing in Spain to press charges against him. It also led to Chileans living in Spain to file charges against their former dictator, Augusto Pinochet
Augusto Pinochet
Augusto José Ramón Pinochet Ugarte, more commonly known as Augusto Pinochet , was a Chilean army general and dictator who assumed power in a coup d'état on 11 September 1973...
, who was later arrested in Britain at the request of Judge Baltasar Garzon
Baltasar Garzón
Baltasar Garzón Real is a Spanish jurist who served on Spain's central criminal court, the Audiencia Nacional. He was the examining magistrate of the Juzgado Central de Instrucción No...
.
Alicia Gil Gil wrote in 2005 that use of a charge genocide to initiate proceedings, was a breach of the legal principle Nullum crimen, nulla poena sine praevia lege poenali
Nullum crimen, nulla poena sine praevia lege poenali
Nullum crimen, nulla poena sine praevia lege poenali is a basic maxim in continental European legal thinking...
which forms part of Spain's constitution, because at the time the offence was committed the Spanish provision on crimes against humanity was not yet in force.
On 4 July 2007, the Supreme Court of Spain
Supreme Court of Spain
The Supreme Court of Spain is the highest court in Spain for all matters not pertaining to the Spanish Constitution. The court which meets in the Convent of the Salesas Reales in Madrid, consists of a president and an indeterminate number of magistrates appointed to the five chambers of the...
increased Scilingo's prison sentence to 1084 years (but effective for only 25 years) and altered the conviction to the specific penalties provided in the current criminal code for the crimes of murder and unlawful detention, but held that these crimes "constitute crimes against humanity according to international law".
Further reading
- Jonathan Mann, "Macabre new details emerge about Argentina's 'dirty war'", CNN, March 23, 1996.
- BBC News Online http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/4173215.stm, http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/4460871.stm
- Margarite Feitlowitz, A Lexicon of Terror: Argentina and the Legacies of Torture, 1999.
- Horacio Verbitsky, "Confessions of an Argentine Dirty Warrior", 2005.