CRISTIAN VON WERNICH

'Cristian Federico Von Wernich' (born in 1938 in Concordia, Entre Ríos Province ^[1]) is an Argentine Roman Catholic priest and a former chaplain of the Buenos Aires Province Police while it was under the command of General Ramón Camps, during the dictatorial period known as the National Reorganization Process (1976–1983).

Von Wernich was accused of participation in the Dirty War, collaborating with the torture of political prisoners. He declared his innocence during the Trial of the Juntas in 1985, two years after the return of democracy. Wernich worked in Miguel Etchecolatz's Direction of Investigations of the provincial police. ^[2]
Federal Judge of La Plata, Arnaldo Corazza, gathered testimony from witnesses that saw Von Wernich at three illegal detention centers (Puesto Vasco, Coti Martínez and Pozo de Quilmes), and ordered his detention on 25 September 2003, after the priest was discovered in Chile under a false identity.
On 7 March 2006 the Federal Court of La Plata confirmed the prosecution and imprisonment, on charges of co-authorship of homicide, illegal restraints and acts of torture (including the kidnapping of Jacobo Timerman, the editor of ''La Opinión''). Surviving victims have declared that Von Wernich questioned them under torture, subjected them to fake executions, or else, under the guise of counseling, urged them to confess.
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Von Wernich's trial began on July 5, 2007 in La Plata, the capital of the province of Buenos Aires. Von Wernich is accused of 7 homicides and 41 instances of kidnapping and torture. The tribunal is composed of judges Carlos Rozanski, Norberto Lorenzo and Horacio Isaurralde, the same who sentenced Miguel Etchecolatz in 2006. Before the trial, Von Wernich denied all charges, saying that while he did visit detention centers, he did not witness any human rights abuses there; on the first day of the trial, however, he exercised his right not to answer any questions.
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References

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References

1. ''La Nación'', 5 July 2007. ''El asesor espiritual del general Ramón Camps''].
2. Nuncamas.org. Testimony of Cristian Federico Von Wernich during the Trial of the Juntas (8 May 1985).
3. ''The Catholic Voice'', 9 January 2006. ''Argentine priest arraigned for human rights abuses''.
4. ''La Capital'' (Rosario), 8 March 2006. ''Von Wernich seguirá en prisión y será sometido a juicio oral''.
5. La Nación, 5 July 2007. ''Empieza el juicio al ex capellán Wernich''.
6. Página/12, 5 July 2007. ''Un cura que bendijo la represión''.

See also

★ Forced disappearance

★ Religion in Argentina

★ Miguel Etchecolatz

External Links

★ Information on Von Wernich Trial provided by APDH La Plata