Former Argentine governor gets 25 years in jail

BUENOS AIRES - A former governor in Argentina was sentenced to 25 years in prison for human rights abuses during the military regime between 1976 and 1983, officials said Thursday.

Some 18,000 people had disappeared in Argentina during the military regime, according to an official estimate. Human rights organisations put the figure at 30,000.

Juan Carlos Colombo was the governor of Formosa province from 1976-1981 under the military regime. He was promoted to general in 1977.

Colombo, 84, was charged with criminal conspiracy, forced disappearance, among others. The prosecution was however seeking for his life-term in jail.

The bodies of many of the victims of the military regime were disposed of in a manner that precluded their future discovery. Some of the bodies were even dumped into the Atlantic, officials said.

Colombo’s trial started in February and featured testimony from 150 witnesses. All this while he had been under house arrest.

–EFE