Unrepentant and devoid of shame, Argentina’s ‘Angel of Death’ is among 29 rights abusers jailed for life

A former navy captain known as the “Angel of Death” was sentenced Wednesday to life in prison for human rights violations committed at a notorious clandestine detention and torture centre during Argentina’s 1976-1983 dictatorship.

Verdicts were also read against 53 other people in the largest trial of its kind in Argentina’s history, which included harrowing accounts of prisoners being hurled alive from planes into the sea. In total, 29 people were jailed for life and 19 sentenced to between 8 years and 25 years. Six others were acquitted.

Former captain Alfredo Astiz sat motionless as a judge read the charges against him that included kidnapping, torture, homicide and stealing minors. Astiz’s nickname came from his cherubic looks and for his work delivering dissidents to the military junta as an undercover agent. He previously was convicted of kidnapping, torturing and murdering two French nuns and a journalist and was already serving a life sentence.

Throughout the trial, Astiz remained unrepentant.

“Human rights groups want persecution and vengeance,” he said. “I’ll never say I’m sorry.”

In the past, Astiz had accused former President Cristina Fernandez of promoting unjust and illegitimate prosecutions for her own political gain. Her late husband and predecessor as president, Nestor Kirchner, encouraged the trials after Argentina’s Congress and Supreme Court removed amnesties that had protected junta veterans.

Hundreds of people outside the courtroom celebrated as sentences were read. Some held a large poster with photos of the 54 defendants with a letter “P” for “perpetua”, referring to life sentences, scribbled over the men’s faces. Others held banners about the disappeared that read: “Tell us where they are.”