A former police chaplain was sentenced to life imprisonment yesterday for involvement in torture, kidnapping and murder during Argentina's "dirty war," in the first trial of a clergyman for rights abuses under military rule.
Roman Catholic priest Christian Von Wernich tended to the notorious Buenos Aires provincial police force, and rights lawyers say he pressured torture victims to talk during visits to clandestine detention centres.
Former police chaplain Christian von Wernich reacts as he listens to the verdict on his trial in La Plata
Outside the court in the central city of La Plata, crowds cheered and set off firecrackers as the verdict was read in the televised trial.
The mothers of murdered political activists have led efforts for human rights convictions related to the dirty war, when thousands of leftist dissidents were systematically maimed and killed during Argentina's 1976-1983 dictatorship.
Von Wernich (69), sat with his head hanging low, his mouth turned downward and his arms crossed over a bulletproof vest during sentencing for the offences, which one of the judges described as crimes against humanity.
Although Von Wernich did not testify during the three-month trial, he told court officials previously he was unaware that detainees were being tortured or held illegally.
One of Von Wernich's defence lawyers said the charges against his client were excessive and suggested the case was an ideological attack against the Catholic Church.
Following the verdict, Argentina's Catholic leaders issued a statement saying the Church was saddened "by the pain of a priest's participation in these very grave crimes."
Many rights activists accuse the Church hierarchy of supporting the military dictatorship and opting to keep silent about its brutality.
Von Wernich's trial was the first case to investigate dirty war-era crimes since a former provincial police commissioner was sentenced to life in prison in September 2006.
Between 11,000 and 30,000 people were killed or "disappeared" during the dirty war purge of leftists, which also swept up Argentines who were not involved in politics.