Former Argentine junta leader sentenced to 20 years in prisonMay 28, 2016 - 11:09 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Former Argentine junta leader Reynaldo Bignone has been sentenced to 20 years in prison for crimes committed under Operation Condor - a conspiracy between South America's dictators in the 1970s, BBC News reports. Bignone and 14 other military officers were found guilty by a court in Argentina after a three-year trial. Many left-wing activists were kidnapped and killed in Argentina, Uruguay, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay and Bolivia. Human rights activists have hailed the ruling. Judges at the court in Buenos Aires announced the sentencing of Bignone, Argentina's last dictator, on Friday. Former Uruguayan Col Manuel Cordero - the only non-Argentine defendant - was jailed for 25 years. The judges are continuing to deliberate the sentencing of the rest of the former military officers. Since the trial started in 2013, five defendants, including Jorge Rafael Videla, the head of Argentina's junta during its first three years, have died. "This ruling, about the co-ordination of military dictatorships in the Americas to commit atrocities, sets a powerful precedent to ensure that these grave human rights violations do not ever take place again in the region," Jose Miguel Vivanco, Americas director for Human Rights Watch, said. Operation Condor - named after the largest vulture in South America - began in 1975 at a meeting of intelligence chiefs from Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Paraguay and Uruguay. It later came to include Brazil, and - in a more peripheral role - Ecuador and Peru. The operation, which continued in the 1980s, brought together the military of neighbouring nations that had previously been at war with each other in order to fight a new common enemy - the spread of Marxist ideology throughout the region. Photo: AFP Top stories Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". The earthquake caused a temporary blackout, damaged many buildings and closed a number of rural roads. Partner news | Fly Arna license suspended, says Armenia official The license of the Armenian airline Fly Arna has been suspended for six months, an official says. President stresses Armenia’s clear position to achieve peace On the eve of the International Francophonie Day, the Armenian President met with French intellectuals. Termination of servicing of MIR cards. IDBank It will not be possible to ensure the full operation of MIR cards in IDBank’s POS-terminals and ATMs Pashinian meets border villagers on possible land transfer to Azerbaijan Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has met with concerned residents of two villages in Armenia’s northern Tavush province. |