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ACTION REQUEST

Argentina: A FAIR TRIAL FOR THE PRISONERS OF LA TABLADA



Currently, in Argentina, 15 political prisoners are in serious condition 
after 90 days of a hunger strike which began to bring attention to a serious 
injustice. Their requests for a fair trial have so far been ignored. We need 
your help to let the authorities know that public concern for this situation 
is occurring worldwide.

THE FACTS

On January 23, 1989, 42 armed civilians, members of Movimiento Todos por la 
Patria (MTP), launched an attack on the barracks of the Infantry Regiment 
No. 3, located at La Tablada, Buenos Aires province, Argentina. The attack 
precipitated a combat of approximately 30 hours duration between the 
attackers and Argentine military personnel which resulted in the deaths of 
29 of the attackers and several State agents.

Although democracy was restored in Argentina in December 1983 after almost 
eight years of military dictatorship, several uprisings involving the armed 
forces have occurred since then, including one that took place little over a 
month before the events at La Tablada. The surviving among the men and women 
who attacked the barracks have sustained that they decided to enter the La 
Tablada barracks because of information that a new military coup was being 
planned there.

After the fighting at the base had ceased, members of the Argentine armed 
forces participated in the summary execution of four of the captured 
attackers, the disappearance of six others, and the torture of a number of 
other captured attackers, which occurred both in the barracks and in police 
facilities. Following the attack, five MTP members were arrested in an area 
near the barracks, and two others turned themselves in voluntarily to the 
authorities who detained them. These seven persons were tortured physically 
and psychologically.

THE TRIAL

The same persons, members of the MTP, as well as thirteen attackers captured 
in the barracks at La Tablada on January 24, 1989, subsequently were tried 
and convicted under Law 23.077, known as "Law for the Defense of Democracy", 
and given prison terms that ranged from 10 years to life. In accordance with 
the provisions of the law, the trial began before a court of second 
instance, which handed down its sentence on October 5, 1989. The petitioners 
appealed this ruling by means of a special appeal, which was rejected. The 
defense then filed an appeal directly to the Supreme Court of the Argentine 
Republic, which dismissed it on March 17, 1992.

It is worth noting that the MTP is a political movement that has operated 
legally in Argentina since May 1986. It has participated in the elections 
for national and provincial authorities. Its activities were not outlawed 
either before or after January 1989.

The surviving members of MTP, along with numerous Argentine and 
international human rights organizations have argued that, during the trial, 
the authorities acted with the intention of covering up the violations 
committed by State agents. Those violations were reported during the 
proceedings, but were investigated separately in so-called "parallel 
proceedings," which were not conducted in a serious or thorough manner, 
resulting in a lack of clear or conclusive information with respect to the 
violations alleged in connection with the events of at La Tablada.

More than eleven years have passed since the trial ended. 15 of the MTP 
members remain in jail with sentences of life in prison, 5 have been 
paroled, 2 who were citizens of Spain were transferred to their country as a 
result of an international treaty and an international order of capture is 
pending on the remaining 6.

INTERNATIONAL CONDEMNATION OF THE TRIAL

A report filed by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (CIDH), an 
office of the Organization of American States, studied the arbitrary 
practices that took place during the judiciary proceedings. Among a number 
of other human rights abuses uncovered by the report there is the violation 
of the right of legitimate defense in trial, since the accused were not 
granted an instance of appeal, as it is stated in the Constitution of the 
Argentine Republic. The CIDH report also determined that 9 of the MTP 
members were murdered by the Argentine armed forces after the capture of the 
former; that, while in custody, all the detainees were tortured; and that 
none of these events was investigated by the authorities, although all of 
them were denounced by human rights organizations, the press, and the 
prisoners themselves.

The CIDH report is available at
http//www.cidh.org/annualrep/97eng/97ench3a10an.htm

THE HUNGER STRIKE

The prisoners of the La Tablada case have been asking since the end of the 
trial that the Argentine Constitution be applied to them, so that they can 
enjoy the benefits of an unbiased investigation of the events and an 
instance of appeal. This year they decided to go on hunger strike to 
overcome the indifference of the Argentine Congress and the government of 
president Fernando de la Rua, in office since December 1999. The first 
strike lasted for nearly sixty days, beginning in May 2000, and concluded 
when the government promised a parliamentary debate to modify the law, so 
that the instance of appeal could take place. As the Argentinean parliament 
decided to indefinitely postpone the treatment of the problem, the prisoners 
reinitiated the hunger strike on September 3, 2000. The strike has enjoyed 
the support of religious leaders, intellectuals, secretaries of union 
federations, student organizations and other grassroots groups within 
Argentina and abroad. Among those asking the Argentinean government for a 
revision of the case are members of the National Congress and international 
political figures such as the philosopher Alain Touraine, Danielle 
Mitterrand, and former president of Nicaragua Daniel Ortega.

To this day, the strikers' physical condition is serious. They have fasted 
for over 90 days and all of them have been brought to hospitals. They need 
more support from the international public opinion in order to be heard.

*****************
WHAT TO DO?
*****************

**WRITE A LETTER TO THE ARGENTINEAN AUTHORITIES asking for an impartial 
revision of the case and a fair trial for the prisoners of La Tablada.

Dr. Fernando de la Rua
Presidencia de la Nacion
Balcarce 50 (1064), Capital Federal
Republica Argentina
Fax+5411 4328 6038/6039
presidente@presidencia.net.ar
privada@presidencia.net.ar

Dr. Federico Storani
Ministerio del Interior
Balcarce 50 (1064), Capital Federal
Republica Argentina
diredcom@mininterior.gov.ar

Dr. Jorge Enrique de la Rua
Ministerio de Justicia y Derechos Humanos
Sarmiento 329 (1041), Capital Federal
Republica Argentina
minjus@jus.gov.ar

**WRITE A LETTER OF SUPPORT TO THE PRISONERS presos@tablada.org
Visit their web page (in Spanish) at http//www.tablada.org/

**FORWARD THIS E-MAIL TO FRIENDS

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
H.I.J.O.S. Vancouver
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The Human Rights Actions Network

Human Rights in Argentina


Derechos

The Human Rights Action Network, a project of Derechos Human Rights, distributes appeals on behalf of victims of human rights violations. You are invited to join the network. Please check the date of the present action and do not write if it's over a month old.



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