Spain extradites "Dirty War" suspect to Argentina

Mon Mar 31, 2008 6:58am EDT

MADRID, March 31 (Reuters) - Spain extradited a former Argentine naval officer to his native country on Monday to face charges of crimes against humanity during the country's "Dirty War", the Spanish Interior Ministry said.

Ricardo Miguel Cavallo, once code-named "Serpico", had been held in a Spanish jail since 2003, when he was extradited from Mexico to face charges in Spain of genocide and terrorism during the 1976-83 military dictatorship in Argentina.

Spain's cabinet ruled on Friday that Cavallo could be sent back under a treaty between the two countries after several years of legal argument over where his trial should take place.

"He was extradited early this morning," an Interior Ministry spokesman said.

Spanish prosecutors had requested several life sentences for Carvallo for his part in the torture and deaths of Spanish citizens.

Up to 30,000 people were kidnapped and killed during a crackdown on leftists and dissidents during the dictatorship. The whereabouts and burial places of all but a few are unknown.

When Cavallo was extradited to Spain, it was the first time one country had handed over a suspect for trial in another for human rights crimes alleged to have been committed in a third. (Reporting by Feliciano Tisera; writing by Martin Roberts; editing by Andrew Dobbie)



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