Saturday 8 October 2011

Argentina: Astiz extradition denied

France had an extradition request for Alfredo Astiz denied this week. The murder of the French nuns Leonie Duquet and Alice Domon for which he was wanted is one of the most notorious of the dictatorship.

The extradition petition was judged "inadmissible" on the perfectly reasonable grounds that Astiz is already on trial in Argentina for crimes involving the same victims. This is as it should be: if Argentina is unable or unwilling to deliver justice, then it's the next-best option that other countries including France, Germany and Spain step in - but the priority must be for trials to take place in Argentina itself. Incidentally, the once "blond angel" makes a pretty miserable impression these days.

Argentina highest court rejects French request to extradite the "blond angel of death"
(Mercopress)
Argentina nixes extradition in 1970s French nun case (Reuters)
La Corte rechazo la extradicion de Astiz (Pagina/12)

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