Tuesday, 16 October 2007, Toward Freedom
was sentenced to life in prison on October 9th in Argentina, for committing crimes against humanity during the nation's bloody military junta. He is the first catholic priest to be charged with human rights abuses committed during the 1976-1983 military junta, during which an estimated 30,000 people were killed.
Von Wernich was found guilty of collaborating with state security agents and covering up crimes in seven deaths, 31 cases of torture and 42 cases of illegal imprisonment. This is the latest human rights verdict of an accused torturer since the landmark conviction of a former police officer for genocide in 2006. As judge Carlos Rozanski read the historic verdict, torture survivors and family members of victims celebrated.
Slow wheels of justice: 30 years of impunity
Outside the courtroom between hugs and cheers, Carlos Saiman, torture survivor and plaintiff against the ex-military chaplain, said that the trials need to continue. "We want for those who participated in genocide to be put in jail, today there's one more in prison. This should force us to continue to bring every person who participated in the genocide in the clandestine detention centers and supported genocide to justice, justice which we the survivors didn't have, that the 30,000 disappeared didn't have."
The historic verdict, sentencing Von Wernich to life in prison comes shortly after the one year anniversary to mark the one year disappearance of a key witness who helped convict a former police officer for life in 2006. Julio Lopez, went missing exactly a year ago, on the eve of the land mark conviction of Miguel Etchecolatz, the first military officer to be sentenced to life in prison for crimes against humanity and genocide committed during the 1976-1983 military dictatorship. Lopez was last seen walking near his home in La Plata, about 40 miles from Buenos Aires.
"After the disappearance of Jorge Julio Lopez, we were afraid whether we could continue with the trials. Even though the witnesses are afraid it is important to continue with the trials to end with the impunity," said Guadelupe Godoy human rights lawyer handling the plaintiffs charges against Von Wernich in the proceedings. Many of the witnesses have had to accept government sponsored witness protection. Just an hour before Von Wernich’s verdict was scheduled, the courthouse in La Plata had to be evacuated.
"Spiritual Aid"
In the courtroom, wearing a priest's collar and bullet proof vest, Von Wernich seemed unaffected and showed no remorse when the verdict was read. On October 9, during his final declaration the ex-military chaplain said that in the history of Christianity, no priest had ever violated the sacrament of confession. "The sacrament of confession - or reconciliation - gives men the opportunity to eradicate their hearts of evil. We the priests of the Catholic church, can use the sacrament and share it. With this sacrament and in 2,000 years in the history of the church, no priest from the Roman-Catholic church ever violated this sacrament."
More than 100 witnesses testified against Von Wernich in the trial which opened in July. He worked as a military chaplain in clandestine detention centers where detainees were tortured during interrogations. Many representatives from the human rights organization Mothers of Plaza de Mayo cried and embraced each other as the verdict was read.
"Christian Von Wernich is one of the spokesmen from the Church that participated in the torture and ‘comforted’ disappeared detainees," said Christina Valdez, whose husband was kidnapped and later disappeared in the provincial capital of La Plata. Witnesses have testified that Von Wernich carried out a special role inside a network of clandestine detention centers known as the "Camps Circuit" in the Buenos Aires suburbs. He is most notorious for his title as "spiritual aid" inside the Puesto Vas