International

Argentine ex-policeman jailed for student’s disappearance in 1976

| By AFP |

A former Argentine police officer was sentenced to 15 years in prison Wednesday 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.

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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.

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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.

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Cases and investigations are ongoing against about another 500 people.

International

Two killed in shooting at restaurant near Frankfurt Airport

Two people were shot dead early Tuesday at a restaurant in Raunheim, near Frankfurt Airport, according to local police.

Preliminary findings indicate that an armed individual entered the establishment at around 03:45 local time (02:45 GMT) and opened fire on the victims, who died at the scene from their injuries.

The suspect fled and remains at large, while the motive behind the shooting is still unclear, German media reported. Authorities have launched a large-scale search operation.

International

U.S. counterterrorism chief resigns over opposition to war in Iran

Joe Kent, director of the National Counterterrorism Center, announced Tuesday that he has resigned from his post, citing his opposition to the ongoing war in Iran.

In a post on X, Kent said he could not, “in good conscience,” support the conflict, arguing that Iran did not pose an imminent threat to the United States. He also claimed that the war was driven by pressure from Israel and its lobbying influence in Washington.

In a resignation letter addressed to Donald Trump, Kent alleged that at the start of the current administration, senior Israeli officials and influential figures in U.S. media carried out a disinformation campaign that undermined the “America First” platform and fostered pro-war sentiment aimed at triggering a conflict with Iran.

Kent further stated that he could not support sending a new generation of Americans to “fight and die in a war that provides no benefit to the American people and does not justify the cost in American lives.”

Since the United States and Israel launched attacks against Iran on February 28, at least 13 U.S. service members have been killed, while 10 others have been seriously wounded and around 200 have sustained minor injuries, according to a report published by The Wall Street Journal.

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International

German president warns Iran war could spread and disrupt Strait of Hormuz

The president of Germany, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, warned Monday that the war involving Iran could expand and further disrupt shipping through the strategic Strait of Hormuz. He urged a swift end to hostilities between Iran, United States and Israel.

Speaking in Panama City during a joint appearance with Panamanian President José Raúl Mulino, Steinmeier said available information suggests Iran has significant capacity to disrupt maritime traffic through the key oil route.

“Iran has considerable potential to interfere with shipping through the Strait of Hormuz,” Steinmeier said through an interpreter. “We should therefore reach an end to the hostilities as soon as possible and call on all parties involved to make that happen.”

The remarks came during Steinmeier’s visit to Panama, the first by a German president to the Central American nation.

The German leader described the possibility of the conflict spreading as “very dangerous,” saying recent developments indicate that such a scenario cannot be ruled out.

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Over the weekend, U.S. President Donald Trump urged allied nations to help ensure safe passage for ships through the Strait of Hormuz after Iran moved to block the waterway in response to U.S. strikes. However, several allies—particularly in Europe—have shown little support for the proposal.

“Some are very enthusiastic, others are not, and some are countries we have helped for many years,” Trump told reporters at the White House. “We have protected them from terrible external threats, and they’re not that enthusiastic. And the level of enthusiasm is important to me.”

Meanwhile, Kaja Kallas, the European Union’s top diplomat, said the Strait of Hormuz falls “outside NATO’s scope” and stressed that “the war involving Iran is not Europe’s war.”