Argentina judge expands search for victims of state terrorism

A federal judge in Argentina has ordered an expansion of the search period for disappeared persons who were victims of illegal repression and state terrorism. Magistrate Sergio Ramos, presiding over Federal Criminal and Correctional Court No. 2, granted a collective habeas corpus petition initiated by the group SonCinCuenta.

While previous rulings had limited the scope of official investigations to the period between 1976 and 1983—the duration of the last military dictatorship—the new resolution mandates that authorities begin procedures to establish the whereabouts of all individuals kidnapped during the context of illegal repression starting from 1973. This expansion covers the period leading up to the military takeover and continues until the beginning of the democratic transition.