Spain to extradite doctor to Uruguay over torture in dictatorship years

Spain's High Court has approved the extradition to Uruguay of a doctor accused of helping the military torture dissidents during the right-wing military dictatorship in the 1970s, the court said on Monday. The extradition had been requested by a Montevideo court based on the testimony of eight victims who allege that the doctor, Carlos Americo Suzacq, advised the military on when to stop or continue torture at a detention centre of the 6th Mechanised Cavalry Regiment in Montevideo between 1972 and 1975.

"Even taking into account that more than 40 years have passed since the events reported...the nature and seriousness of these events, as well as the need to prevent them from going unpunished, leads this court to grant the extradition claim," the Spanish tribunal said in its verdict. It cited alleged crimes of abuse of authority against detainees, serious injuries and unlawful deprivation of liberty that are classified as crimes against humanity.

The doctor opposed his extradition saying he had Spanish citizenship, which he gained by marriage in 1978. He also said he had had roots in Spain since 1977, when he went into exile and established his residence in the Iberian country, working as a doctor. Suzacq also claimed there was a statute of limitations as Spain introduced crimes against humanity and torture in its penal code many years later.

About 200 Uruguayans were kidnapped and killed during the 1973-1985 dictatorship in the South American country, while thousands were thrown into prisons where many were tortured. While a 1986 amnesty law shielded most officers from prosecution, legislation approved in 2011 made new rights trials possible as rights-related crimes would not be subject to a statute of limitations.

Even before 2011, dozens of dictatorship officials have been jailed for past rights abuses, including late former President Juan Maria Bordaberry.

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