“I am an exceptional prisoner. » It is with these words that Mario Alfredo Sandoval, 69, spoke on Wednesday, September 14, in Buenos Aires, during the opening of his trial for the kidnapping and torture of a student and Peronist activist, Hernan Abriata, October 30, 1976, during the Argentine dictatorship (1976-1983).
The former Franco-Argentine policeman is accused of being the “co-perpetrator of the offense of unlawful deprivation of liberty followed by torture” against Hernan Abriata, who disappeared, like 5,000 other opponents, from the School of Marine Mechanics, the sinister ESMA, where he was detained.
Settled in France when democracy returned in 1985, Mr. Sandoval obtained its nationality twelve years later. During the hearing, which was held both in person and by videoconference, he introduced himself as “French and Argentinian, but Argentinian by obligation”. Mario Sandoval was extradited from his home in Nogent-sur-Marne on December 15, 2019 after an almost eight-year legal marathon, which culminated in a decree signed in 2018 by then Prime Minister Edouard Philippe, and the Minister of Justice, Nicole Belloubet, and validated by the Council of State on December 11, 2019.
Mario Sandoval, in pre-trial detention since then, appeared before Federal Court No. 5 duly masked, wearing black gloves and dressed in a dark blue jacket with a blue-white-red patch sewn on the shoulder. “It looked like he was in a French policeman’s uniform, notes Monica Dittmar, 70, the widow of Hernan Abriata, present in the courtroom. It was a provocation, he was intimidating, he’s a really scary person. »
The morgue of the accused
As soon as judge Fernando Canero gives him the floor, the man engages in a long lesson in international law, believing his rights have been violated. “Am I a human being without human rights, that is to say a sub-human? », he asks. He rocks “not to be the inspector or commissioner Sandoval who went to the Abriata family home” the night of October 30, 1976. And considers himself the victim of a homonymy, even if he admits for the first time that he was indeed employed at the Superintendency of Federal Security (SSF), an agency of the Argentine federal police.
In the courtroom – where Carlos Loza, 69, who was detained at ESMA at the same time as the young Abriata – is also present, the arrogance with which Mario Sandoval responds to Judge Canero provokes outraged reactions, forcing the magistrate to call the public to order. When asked what his level of education is, Mario Sandoval answers: ” I know how to read and write. » “But have you studied? », insists the judge. “Doctor, I can read and write. » Mr. Canero grows impatient: “Beyond that, I ask you if you have studied. » Mario Sandoval does not disassemble: “Enough to know how to read and write. »
You have 54.08% of this article left to read. The following is for subscribers only.