Julio César Strassera
Julio César Strassera | |
---|---|
Born | Comodoro Rivadavia, Argentina | September 18, 1933
Died | February 27, 2015 Buenos Aires, Argentina | (aged 81)
Nationality | Argentine |
Alma mater | University of Buenos Aires |
Julio César Strassera (September 18, 1933 – February 27, 2015) was an Argentine lawyer and jurist. He served as Chief Prosecutor during the Trial of the Juntas in 1985.
Life and times
Early life
Strassera was born in
Role during the Dirty War
His tenure as Federal Prosecutor coincided with the height of the
Another controversial motion filed by Strassera as prosecutor pertained to the July 4, 1976, San Patricio Church massacre - charges he succeeded in having the presiding judge drop.[6] Strassera was named criminal court Judge in 1981, an appointment he considered a demotion since he would be relegated to "sentencing chicken thieves."[1]
Trial of the Juntas
Strassera was reappointed prosecutor, however, following the election of President
Strassera appointed Assistant Prosecutor Luis Moreno Ocampo, who at the time served as counsel in the Solicitor General's department. Both men had served in Justice Ministry posts during the dictatorship, and both would now prosecute crimes against humanity by its leaders. Both were also the only two of the many prosecutors contacted who accepted the challenging posts.[1]
The difficulty of gathering evidence and testimony from reluctant witnesses for this trial — the first proceedings of their kind since the proceedings against Greek Junta leadership in 1975 — was compounded by pressure from many of those implicated in the abuses and their allies. Strassera's office was contacted on numerous occasions by the former Interior Minister during the dictatorship, General Albano Harguindeguy, as well as by right-wing figures in the ruling UCR itself.[7] During the trial itself, 29 bomb threats were received in Buenos Aires schools, and a number were detonated in key government installations.[8]
Hearings officially began on April 22, 1985, upon which Strassera presented 709 cases to the presiding tribunal. Ultimately, 280 cases were heard and 833 witnesses testified, including former President, General
The last day of testimony took place on August 14, 1985. Strassera presented charges against the nine defendants — including three former Presidents — on September 11. He argued that sentences for each defendant be dictated by the proven role of each
Strassera presented closing arguments on September 18, saying:
I wish to waive any claim to originality in closing this motion. I wish to use a phrase that is not my own, because it already belongs to all the Argentine people. Your Honors: Never again! [10]
Later career
The December 9 sentencing of General
Strassera subsequently represented Argentina at the United Nations Commission on Human Rights and related international organizations. Following Menem's pardons, he resigned his government posts, and joined the Permanent Assembly for Human Rights, one of the leading non-governmental human rights organizations in Argentina.[1]
The noted prosecutor and jurist would remain a controversial figure in Argentina, however. Strassera defended Buenos Aires Mayor
Amid a series of
Strassera was checked into the San Camilo Clinic in Caballito, Buenos Aires, on February 16, 2015, with a condition of hyperglycemia, and died ten days later; he was 81.[17]
References
- ^ a b c d e "Yo acusé" (PDF). Revista Exactamente. December 1999.
- ^ "Cuestión de fe". Página/12. 30 May 1999.
- ^ a b "El gobierno refuerza su ataque contra Strassera". La Nación. 23 September 2010.
- ^ "Osvaldo Papaleo: Isidoro Graiver se ha escapado del país". Página/12. 28 August 2010.
- ^ "Deleznable". Página/12. 29 August 2010.
- ^ Seisdedos, Gabriel (1996). El Honor de Dios. San Pablo. Archived from the original on 2008-12-11.
- ^ a b "Los jueces, en aquella sala". Página/12. 9 December 2005.
- ^ "Alfonsín decreta el estado de sitio en Argentina por 6 días". El País. 26 October 1985.
- ^ Hodgson, Bryan (August 1986). "Argentina's New Beginning". National Geographic Magazine.
- ^ a b Ciancaglini, Sergio; Granovsky, Martín (1995). Nada más que la verdad: el juicio a las juntas. Planeta.
- ^ Feitlowitz, Marguerite (2002). A Lexicon of Terror: Argentina and the Legacies of Torture. Oxford University Press.
- ^ "Dirty War prosecutor Strassera dies at 81". Buenos Aires Herald. 27 February 2015.
- ^ "Kirchner y el final de la impunidad en argentina". La Mañana de Córdoba. 28 October 2010.
- ^ "Strassera calificó de "mamarracho" y "disparate" acusación a Isabel". Perfil. 15 January 2007.
- ^ a b "Quién fue Julio César Strassera". La Notocia 1. 27 February 2015.
- ^ "Strassera: Papaleo nunca vinculó la venta a un hecho ilegal". Clarín. 27 August 2010.
- ^ "Murió Julio César Strassera, el fiscal emblema del juicio a las Juntas Militares". Perfil. 27 February 2015.