The European United Left/Nordic Green Left group in the European Parliament is calling on the EU to take measures to clarify the disappearance 8 years ago of Jorge Julio Lopez, an Argentinian construction worker, on September 18 2006.

 

Lopez, who suffered repression under the Argentinian dictatorship, was a key witness in the case against Miguel Osvaldo Etchecolatz, a chief of the Buenos Aires Police during the military dictatorship who played a major role in the kidnapping, torture and disappearance of 13,000 people between 1976 and 1983 (30,000 according to unofficial estimations). Up until now, there is no official explanation of what happened to him.

 

Spanish GUE/NGL MEP Tania Gonzalez said: “We understand that the kidnapping of Jorge Julio Lopez was aimed at the intimidation of witnesses and those who struggled for the defense of human rights, in an operation directed to ensure impunity for the genocidas in Argentina.

 

She continued: “Eight years after his disappearance, we urge the EU to take measures to help clarify this issue, guarantee the right to the memory of missing people in Argentina, ensure that all those responsible for the horrific crimes of the dictatorship are brought to justice, and demand that the judges who have shown complicity with these crimes are immediately dismissed and held responsible through a fair trial.”