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A FORMER ARGENTINE police officer was sentenced to 15 years in prison today for the torture and disappearance of a student 46 years ago under the South American country’s last military dictatorship.
Mario Sandoval, 69, stood accused of having participated in hundreds of abductions, torture and disappearances committed during the 1976-1983 dictatorship.
He was extradited from France in 2019 after a long period of exile and a legal battle, and put on trial for only one such case: the death of then 24-year-old architecture student and left-wing activist Hernan Abriata in 1976.
Sandoval was found guilty of “illegitimate deprivation of liberty” and “torture” of a political prisoner. He participated in the sentencing proceedings from his cell in a military prison.
Sandoval is accused of having been one of the most active agents of the notorious Navy Mechanics School (ESMA), which served as the country’s largest detention and torture facility.
Some 5,000 people were sent there and most disappeared, taken by airplane on “death flights” and dumped into the River Plate. Only about 100 people detained in ESMA survived.
Survivors say Sandoval, apparently given the nickname “grilled steak” for torturing prisoners tied to a metal bed frame with electricity, was particularly active in the ESMA. He has repeatedly proclaimed his innocence.
Sandoval fled to France in 1985, two years after the military junta fell, and built a new life there as a defense and security consultant.
He taught at the Sorbonne and the Institute of Higher Latin American Studies in Paris.
He was discovered by a student at the Sorbonne after ex-ESMA prisoners recognized him from photos.
Sandoval was arrested at his home in the Paris suburbs.
Although he gained French nationality in 1997, Argentina successfully obtained Sandoval’s extradition as he was not French at the time of the alleged crimes.
He had unsuccessfully petitioned France’s Council of State in a bid to prevent his extradition. France agreed to his extradition to stand trial only in the Abriata case.
Since the prosecution of dictatorship figures resumed in 2006 after a decade of controversial amnesties, more than 1,000 people have been convicted of crimes against humanity.
Cases and investigations are ongoing against about another 500 people.
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its not as if the journal are the ones who wrote and staged the piece the are just reporting on it
No such thing as a bold child these days.
Probably because we have a richer understanding of the mind, instead of the binary good v. bad.
It’s funny how instances of ADHD rise as you travel from west coast USA to East coast, it’s also funny how this trend corresponds to the ownership of games consoles and various technological gear kids are given these days. I’m not saying ADHD does not exist but it’s used to often as a get out Clause.
totally agree with u Gary there is such a thing as a bold child but its easier to say they have adhd rather than just saying their a brat
I don’t know about owning game consoles- my children have wii and ds consoles but the geography speaks volumes…
My Da had a great cure for ADHD. A toe up the hole. Cured me every time.
aka “mammy didn’t give me enough hugs syndrome”
true sometimes children are just bold and being a brat nothing else
adhd is just an excuse 4 parents not to put maners on their kids 4 being bold… no1 wants to tell their kids of anymore..
Jonathan that’s not true- myself and my husband try and discipline our children appropriately when necessary. When want to ensure that their actions don’t go unchecked. Simple manners like please and thank you- are just the beginning. Don’t tar all parents with the same brush…
Where was ADHD in the 70s and 80s?it seems all too prevalent nowadays. I do believe SOME parents misuse the condition to excuse “bad” behaviour. AND before I get red thumbed- I have 3 children-8,7 and 2. I do know what naughty vs good should be and when I as a parent should step up and take responsibility for my children’s behaviour and not blame a condition.
Should be ashamed of yourselves running this story. Many young kids including my own son have ADHD and I don’t take kindly to having it slagged off as is the case here. I’m all for a laugh and joke but not at some child’s expense. Shame on you. If it was a slur about skin colour, wheelchair bound people, mentally handicapped or blind people would you still run it.
I doubt the play makes fun of ADHD. The original ADHD and Asperger’s kids are in their twenties now. Things are becoming more tolerant, and diagnosed writers/actors are emerging. I wouldn’t worry.
Hi all,
@Jambbie: With respect, I’m not sure what problem you have with this review. The show itself, which is part of this year’s Fringe festival, discusses ADHD and some of the reactions and misunderstandings surrounding the condition. It seems that there are some playful elements to the story but I don’t think that these try to poke fun at children or those with ADHD – far from it. In any case, TheJournal.ie didn’t write or stage the play – this is just a review of it.
More generally, I’d like to point out that ADHD is a recognised behavioural condition that presents very real challenges to those who suffer from it and their families (see: http://www.apa.org/topics/adhd/index.aspx). It really isn’t helpful to suggest that children with ADHD are just “acting up”.
my son was very bold and used to have at least half a dozen very bad tantrums every day,,, it was a nightmare,, doctor said he had adhd,,I didn’t agree,,I didn’t want to label my child just so his mother could get some extra allowance,,I changed his diet and made sure he got out for lots of exercise,, he was just a normal boy, with lots of energy that needed to be burnt off,, and u am aware that there are genuine cases, but kids are you easily labeled adhd,, their kids their supposed to be balls of energy and excitement,,
Sounds like a good story . Could be a laugh. Wouldn’t mind seeing it for the craic.
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