Argentine justice sentences 11 repressors to life imprisonment for crimes against humanity

Published at: 19/05/2026 04:03 PM

The Argentinian justice system handed down a historic verdict when eleven former security forces officers were sentenced to life imprisonment for crimes against humanity committed during the last civilian-military dictatorship.

The ruling represents a new and momentous step forward in the country's process of memory, truth and justice, as it judges the systematic violations of human rights committed half a century ago in clandestine detention centers.

The ruling was announced by the Federal Oral Court of La Plata, composed of judges Karina Yabor, Ricardo Basilico and Andrés Basso, after the conclusion of the oral debate of the unified process known as the “1 and 60" trial, which also covered the crimes committed in the 8th Police Station of La Plata and other police units of the Infantry and Cavalry Corps of the province of Buenos Aires. In addition to the eleven life sentences, the court imposed sentences of 18 and 25 years in prison on two other defendants involved in the state's repressive apparatus.

The megacause included the investigation of crimes committed against more than 300 victims of political persecution, kidnapping and extermination. Those convicted today, including civilians, army officers and former Buenos Aires police officers (such as Jaime Lamont Smart and Juan Miguel Wolk), were found guilty as co-perpetrators of the crimes of illegal deprivation of liberty aggravated by violence and threats, the application of torture and qualified homicides.

The reading of the sentence was greeted with deep emotion and scenes of weeping on the part of survivors, activists and families of the disappeared who filled the vicinity of the court and the broadcasting rooms.

Human rights organizations highlighted the value of the resolution after decades of waiting, stressing that this verdict consolidates Argentine and international jurisprudence against State terrorism and reaffirms that crimes against humanity do not have a statute of limitations.

Mazo News Team