News

A court in Argentina has reopened an investigation into killings committed during the Spanish Civil War and the early years of the Franco dictatorship, such as human rights groups and families of victims requested, court officials reported this week.

The court overturned a previous ruling that closed the investigations and requested the Spanish Government to provide information on whether it is investigation those crimes committed between July 17th, 1936 and June 15th, 1977.

In Spain, there has never been a comprehensive investigation into the deaths of thousands of people shot and buried in mass graves during the 1936-39 civil war and Franco''s subsequent rule.

The legal move is a turning of the tables. In the past, victims of the 1976-1983 Argentine "Dirty War" sought justice through European courts, which have passed sentences in absentia against South American human rights abusers.

One of the most famous cases of universal jurisdiction is former Argentine navy officer Alfredo Astiz, known as the "Blonde Angel of Death," who was sentenced in absentia to life imprisonment in France for the kidnapping and torture of two French nuns in Argentina.

Astiz is now on trial in Argentina, where courts have reopened human rights abuse cases.