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Amnesty International Report 2004 - Argentina

Covering events from January - December 2003

Prison conditions did not meet international standards, and there were reports of torture and illtreatment of detainees, including minors, in police stations. Human rights defenders were threatened. There were judicial and legislative decisions in Argentina and abroad to investigate past human rights violations.

Background

Néstor Kirchner, from the ruling Peronist party, was inaugurated as President in May, following the withdrawal of former President Carlos Menem from the second round of the presidential elections. The new administration faced continuing fragility in terms of the country's democratic institutions and the economy. Among the urgent challenges were a new agreement on revenue with the provinces, reform of the judiciary and the police, and addressing the severe social crisis generated by high levels of poverty and unemployment.

Prison conditions

The UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention visited Argentina between September and October at the invitation of the government. The delegation visited detention centres in the federal capital, the provinces of Buenos Aires, Mendoza, and Salta. Public statements made by the delegation described conditions of detention in prisons and police stations as extremely severe and cruel and inhuman. Their statements also drew attention to the criminalization of poverty and stressed the direct impact on human rights of the negative economic situation.

Children

There were reports of torture and ill-treatment of minors in police stations.

• In Santiago del Estero there were reports that children under the age of 12 who were arbitrarily arrested by police sustained bruises and injuries consistent with allegations of police ill-treatment.

• In La Plata, Buenos Aires Province, there were reports that many minors who had been detained in police stations needed treatment for cuts and bruises, but did not dare to file complaints for fear of reprisals.

• In January, children begging in the city of Mendoza, Mendoza Province, were arrested by provincial police and detained in police stations. Up to 30 children were registered as having been taken to the Third Police Station of Mendoza. According to reports, two girls, aged 11 and 13, stated that they had been kept in the Third Police Station in a padlocked cell in darkness with one blanket, together with their six-year-old brother, who had to urinate in the cell as he was not taken to the toilet when he requested it. A habeas corpus petition filed by human rights lawyers was initially rejected by the first court. Several hours later the children were handed over to their families or transferred to the Detention Centre for Minors on the orders of a provincial judge.

Human rights defenders

Relatives of victims of human rights violations and human rights defenders and journalists reporting on human rights issues continued to be subjected to harassment and death threats.

• In January, Gustavo Melmann, his wife, their four children, relatives and friends received death threats as the second anniversary of the rape and killing of his daughter, Natalia, approached and the family continued to press for the trial of two men allegedly involved in her murder. Three policemen had been sentenced to life imprisonment in September 2002 in connection with her rape and murder.

• Marcelino Altamirano, coordinator of a home for street children in the city of Mendoza, was harassed on several occasions. In August his car was set on fire while it was parked a few metres from a room were five children were sleeping. An unidentified caller left a message saying, "we did it". Despite support and guarantees for his safety from the provincial authorities, Marcelino Altamirano was attacked again in October near a police station close to his home in the locality of Guaymallén, Mendoza Province. An unidentified man reportedly accosted him, saying, "your time is up", before firing a gun into the air and snatching Marcelino Altamirano's rucksack containing legal documents relating to 12 street children.

Past human rights violations

In May, two judges from the Federal Court in La Plata declared that crimes against humanity are not subject to any statute of limitations. The judges revoked the dismissal of the case against a former police officer accused of destroying information from the morgue of the Buenos Aires Police Headquarters about the causes of death of people who had "disappeared". The judges stated that crimes that occurred during the military government (1976-1983) linked to crimes against humanity can be investigated and punished.

In June the Mexican Supreme Court confirmed the extradition of former Argentine naval captain Ricardo Miguel Cavallo to Spain to face charges in connection with human rights violations (see Mexico entry).

In July, President Néstor Kirchner repealed Decree 1581/01 which prohibited the extradition of individuals allegedly involved in human rights violations under military governments.

In August, the Senate declared the Full Stop and Due Obedience Laws null and void. These laws had blocked the investigation of thousands of cases of human rights abuses committed during the period of military government. In October the Supreme Court referred the issue of the constitutionality of these laws to the Appeal Court. A ruling was pending at the end of the year.

In December, the Nuremberg Prosecutor's Office in Germany issued an international arrest warrant for former Argentine President Jorge Rafael Videla and two former members of the armed forces. The three men were accused of involvement in the killing of German citizens Klaus Zieschank and Elisabeth Kasemann in 1976 and 1977 respectively.

International organizations

In October the Inter-American Court of Human Rights ruled that Argentina had to continue and complete the investigation of the case of Walter Bulacio, who died following his detention by police in April 1991, and bring to justice those found responsible. The ruling established that the statute of limitations was not applicable and ordered the payment of a compensation of US$400,000 to Walter Bulacio's relatives. The ruling also called for changes in police laws and practice to avoid similar cases in the future.