Omar Graffigna
Omar Graffigna | |
|---|---|
Brigadier General | |
| Commands held | Chief of the General Staff (1979–81) |
| Battles/wars | |
| Conviction(s) | Crimes against humanity, including kidnapping, torture and murder |
| Criminal penalty | 25 years in prison |
Date apprehended | 2013 |
Omar Domingo Rubens Graffigna (April 2, 1926 – December 9, 2019)[2] was an Argentine Air Force officer who served in the second military junta of the National Reorganization Process dictatorship. Along with Santiago Omar Riveros, he was one of the last two surviving (as of 2018[update]) members of the dictatorship. On 8 September 2016 he was sentenced to 25 years' imprisonment for crimes during the dictatorship.
Biography
Graffigna was born in rural Clarke,
He succeeded General Orlando Agosti as Commander of the Air Force in January 1979, and continued Agosti's policy of having the post serve as a moderating counterweight to the hard-line Navy stance. Graffigna was a vocal advocate of the Dirty War, however, stating in December 1979 that "in a dangerously disoriented world, destiny has given us only one option: to be part of the spiritual reserve of the West."[4]
Trials and imprisonment
Graffigna was indicted for kidnapping, torture, robbery, invasion of property and forgery of public documents during the historic
In 2003 Graffigna was ordered arrested again by Judge Rodolfo Canicoba Corral pursuant to a request for his
Prime Minister José María Aznar of Spain decided that extraditions to Spain of those implicated in crimes during the Argentine dictatorship were now unwarranted, as Argentina had repealed an amnesty absolving those involved of responsibility for crimes, so that they could now be dealt with in Argentina. In 2005, however, the Supreme Court of Spain annulled the Prime Minister's decision and ordered that extradition proceedings begin.[7] Graffigna and Lami Dozo unsuccessfully petitioned the Argentine Federal Court for a habeas corpus ruling for what they maintained was a lack of jurisdiction on the part of Spanish courts.[6]
On 8 September 2016 Graffigna was sentenced in Argentina to 25 years' imprisonment for the abduction, torture and murder of the married couple
References
- ^ Reseña Histórica de Carrizales (Clarke) (in Spanish) Archived 2011-07-06 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Last Argentine Junta member dies aged 93".
- ^ Argentina: Missile Chronology Archived 2011-01-02 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ McSherry, J. Patrice. Incomplete transition: military power and democracy in Argentina. St. Martin's Press, 1997.
- ^ Ciancaglini, Sergio, and Granovsky, Martín. Nada más que la verdad: el juicio a las juntas. Buenos Aires: Planeta, 1995.
- ^ a b Clarín (13 Apr 2006) (in Spanish)
- ^ La Nación (in Spanish)[permanent dead link]
- ^ Uki Goñi (9 September 2016). "Ex-head of Argentina air force sentenced in 1978 abduction of activist couple". The Guardian. Retrieved 9 September 2016.
- ^ "Lesa humanidad: condenan a Graffigna y a Trillo a 25 años de prisión" [Crimes against Humanity: Graffigna and Trillo sentenced to 25 years in prison]. Clarín (in Spanish). 8 September 2016. Retrieved 12 September 2016.
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