Retired military officer Adolfo Donda was on Monday sentenced to 15 years in prison as co-perpetrator of the abduction of his niece, politician Victoria Donda, during Argentina’s 1976-1983 military dictatorship.
Federal Oral Court 6 of Buenos Aires ruled that the Argentine soldier was "a necessary participant criminally responsible for the crime of abduction of minors in ideal concurrence with her retention and concealment."
The judges indicated that the crime involved a specific form of gender-based violence and the dehumanisation of childbirth.
During the trial, prosecutors described the case as "particularly atrocious,” given the familial bond between victim and perpetrator. The full grounds for the ruling will be known on May 6, 2024, the court said.
"Today, my uncle, Adolfo Donda, was sentenced to 15 years in prison for my appropriation and concealment of my identity,” wrote Victoria Donda, a former lawmaker and ex-chief of the INADI anti-discrimination agency, on her social media accounts, minutes after the sentence became known.
“Although I still don't know where my parents are, I know that from today they rest in peace," she added.
Victoria’s disappeared parents, María Hilda ‘Cori’ Pérez and José Laureano Donda, were kidnapped in March 1977 during the era of state terrorism. Both Montoneros, the duo have been missing ever since. Presumed dead, their final resting place is unknown.
At the time of the abduction, Pérez was five months pregnant. She eventually gave birth to her daughter in a makeshift maternity ward at the infamous clandestine detention centre at the ex-ESMA Navy Mechanics School in Núñez, Buenos Aires.
Lidia Vieyra, a survivor of the ex-ESMA, said during the trial that, upon giving birth, María had pierced her daughter’s ear with a little blue thread “in case they took her to an orphanage, to be able to identify her.”
“That was the worst of universes. We never imagined that in this horror they would appropriate children or kill their parents," said the witness.
Victoria Donda recovered her identity in 2004 and was the first child of the disappeared to be elected as a national deputy, serving between 2007 and 2019 and, between 2019 and 2022.
Crimes against humanity
On Monday, the court ruled that Adolfo Donda, José's brother, had been a co-author of Victoria’s subsequent appropriation.
After being taken away from her parents Victoria was registered as a biological daughter of Coast Guard officer Juan Antonio Azic, a member of the ESMA task force, along with Adolfo Donda.
Azic has already been convicted of crimes against humanity, including the appropriation of Victoria’s identity, and is currently serving his sentence under house arrest.
Adolfo Donda learned the ruling from Ezeiza prison in western Buenos Aires Province, where he is serving a life sentence for crimes against humanity committed at ESMA.
He was one of the primary individuals responsible for operation the concentration camp, was a key member of the brutal ESMA taskforce and participated in the imprisonment, torture, and killing of his relatives.
Prosecuting lawyer Carolina Villella told the AFP news agency that the sentence received is the maximum possible for the crime and considered the ruling "cause for celebration."
The ruling is "extremely important because of the regrettable moment we are living through where there are deniers of the events that took place during the last civil-military dictatorship in Argentina," said Villella.
"It shows that the evidence is so convincing that there is rolling back on this matter," she added.
In 2022, the former Navy officer denied the allegations in-person before the court.
– TIMES/AFP/NA
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