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Argentina
Political tensions that began during the administration of President Juan Doming Perón and deepened after his death in July 1974 have created a serious and unusually complex human rights situation in Argentina.
In August 1974, Secretary General Martin Ennals wrote to President Maria Estela Perón urging stricter control of detention procedures to avoid occurrences of maltreatment and torture. Mr Ennals called for an inquiry into the allegations that had been made and referred, in particular, to the situation of the large numbers of Latin American refugees who had come to Argentina after the coup d'état in Chile, in September 1973.
In September 1974, a tragic event confirmed the lack of effective safeguards for refugees in Argentina: five Uruguayans, of whom one was under the protection of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, were kidnapped by a group of men in civilian clothes claiming to be police. Three of the Uruguayans were later found dead. In a press statement, AI again called for increased protection for such vulnerable sectors of the community and for an inquiry into those murders committed by para-police or vigilante groups.
In an effort to curb violent opposition, severe security legislation was introduced in September 1974, followed by the declaration of a state of siege in November 1974. The official figures of persons placed "at the disposal of the Executive Power" was in the region of 500 towards the end of 1974, and 1,117 in March 1975. No legal data are available on such preventive detention, but it appears that the large majority of these persons represent peaceful dissent and themselves condemn violent methods.
Although preventive detention is fully constitutional under the provisions of the state of siege, AI is watching closely the extent and duration of detention and has already allocated 19 such cases to AI groups for further investigation.
Prominent among the detainees are those lawyers who act as counsel for political prisoners. Their detention represents an infringement of the very principle of the right to defence. AI has provided information on some 50 law- yers in this situation to lawyers' and legal bodies and has allocated some of these cases to Al groups for further investigation.
During the past year, AI received numerous allegations of torture of detainees in police or military custody. In several cases, there exist medical certificates and statements made before judicial authorities concerning maltreatment. AI has re- peatedly written to the federal and provincial authorities, calling for inquiries into specific cases of torture and deaths of detainees. Such calls have also been made by political and legal sectors within Argentina. In January 1975, Martin Ennals again wrote to the Argentinian authorities to appeal for adequate legal safeguards. The letter was released to the press, accompanied by an article on the situation.
In his letter, the Secretary General also referred to political assassinations and other acts of violence committed by leftwing guerrillas and rightwing death squads. The number of victims of such violence since July 1974 has now surpass- ed 400. The government has concentrated its efforts on curbing the leftwing violence, but its failure to intervene against the rightwing death squads has created an impression that the authorities condone their activities. There is