Second 'dirty war' witness missing in Argentina (Reuters)

[Eugene]

Second 'dirty war' witness missing in Argentina
29 Dec 2006 01:35:23 GMT
Source: Reuters

BUENOS AIRES, Dec 28 (Reuters) - Police searched on Thursday for a man
who has disappeared months after testifying he was tortured by a policeman
during Argentina's military dictatorship, the second "Dirty War" witness
to go missing.

Government officials said President Nestor Kirchner had postponed a planned
trip to coordinate police efforts to locate Luis Gerez, a 51-year-old
construction worker who vanished on Wednesday, according to family members.

Gerez was a witness earlier this year in a congressional investigation probing
whether a former police chief accused of rights abuses and recently elected
to Congress should be allowed to take his seat.

Gerez's testimony proved crucial and led lawmakers to vote to prevent Luis Patti
from assuming office.

-snip-

Full article: http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N28211721.htm

[Eugene]

1. Missing 'Dirty War' witness found in Argentina (Reuters)

Missing 'Dirty War' witness found in Argentina
30 Dec 2006 02:50:27 GMT
Source: Reuters

By Fiona Ortiz

BUENOS AIRES, Dec 29 (Reuters) - A man who was kidnapped after
testifying he was tortured by a former policeman linked to Argentina's
military dictatorship was found alive on Friday, his family said, two
days after his disappearance sparked a nationwide manhunt.

Luis Gerez, a 51-year-old construction worker, was the second "Dirty
War" witness to disappear in recent months.

His discovery came shortly after President Nestor Kirchner went on
national television and accused former state agents of seeking to
intimidate judicial investigators and witnesses involved in human rights
cases probing the military's rule from 1976 to 1983.

Leon Arslanian, Buenos Aires province's security minister, told reporters
Gerez had been kidnapped and his body was marked with cigarette burns
and bruises. A police patrol found Gerez walking shirtless in a rural area
of a Buenos Aires suburb, he said.

-snip-

Full article: http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N29275534.htm