13:51 | Rome (Italy), Jan. 17.
The Italian justice on Tuesday sentenced 95-year-old former Peruvian President Francisco Morales Bermudez (1975-1980) to life in prison given his involvement in Operation Condor, along with ex-military members Pedro Richter Prada and German Ruiz Figueroa.
The three men are part of a total of 8 former military officials from countries Bolivia, Chile, Uruguay and Peru.
All of them engaged in a repression plan against the opposition to military juntas that ruled the said nations —as well as Argentina, Brazil and Chile— between the 1970s and the 1980s.
The said operation had been crafted by former Chilean President Augusto Pinochet.
Hernan Jeronimo Ramirez, Rafael Ahumada Valderrama (Chile), Juan Carlos Blanco (Uruguay), Luis Garcia Meza and Luis Arce Gomez (Bolivia) were also found guilty.
On the other hand, Pedro Octavio Espinoza Bravo, Daniel Aguirre Mora, Carlos Luco Astroza, Orlando Moreno Vasquez, Manuel Abraham Vásquez Chauan (Chile) and Martin Martinez Garay (Peru) were absolved of charges.
Likewise, Uruguayans Jose Ricardo Arab Fernandez, Nino Jose Horacio Gavazzo, Juan Carlos Larcebeau, Pedro Antonio Mato Narbondo, Luis Alfredo Maurente, Ricardo Jose Medina Blanco, Ernesto Avelino Ramas Pereira, Jose Sande Lima, Jorge Alberto Silveira, Ernesto Soca, Jorge Nestor Troccoli, Gilberto Vazquez Bissio and Ricardo Eliseo Chavez were not found guilty.
The Rome Prosecutor's Office had previously requested life sentences after accusing them of murdering some 20 Italian-Latin-American citizens.
(END) CCR/MVB
Published: 1/17/2017