A former naval officer alleged to have tortured political detainees during Argentina's years of military rule was reported at the weekend to have given himself up and to be in police custody Monday.
The fate of Alfredo Astiz, who was a frigate captain under the 1976-1983 military dictatorship, may prove a test case for the administration of President Fernando de la Rua as it tackles issues of accountability for the human rights abuses of that period.
An Argentine judge had announced Saturday that she was responding to a request from the Italian authorities by issuing an arrest warrant for the 50-year-old Astiz, and for Jorge Vildoza -- who is alleged, as a colleague of Astiz at the Argentine navy's Engineering School in Buenos Aires, to have likewise participated in the torture of political detainees ahead of extrajudicial executions -- BUENOS AIRES (AFP)
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