For the first time ever, a judge in Argentina convicted 11 former officials of the country's former military dictatorship of crimes against humanity on Tuesday over the sexual violence committed against trans women in the country. This is now considered a landmark human rights victory, as the treatment of these trans women by the dictatorship was often overlooked by the general public.

The trial was held inside a courthouse in La Plata, Buenos Aires, and the verdict was a result of a case that lasted nearly four years. The trial revealed previously chronicled atrocities, deepening the nation's understanding of its traumatic history, according to the Associated Press.

The treatment of transgender women by the right-wing dictatorship that ruled Argentina from 1976 to 1983 was considered widespread as the transgender community's suffering became front and center during the historic trial. Their treatment was part of the dictatorship's tactic to keep the populace at bay.

Transgender people were just one of the many targets of the former Argentina dictatorship's repression, with around 30,000 people suspected of opposing the military government being abducted by the regime and systematically tortured in clandestine detention centers, leading to their eventual disappearance.

"What is different about this trial is that for the first time in Argentina and in the world, crimes against humanity committed against trans women in the context of state terrorism are condemned," one of the prosecutors in the case, Ana Oberlin, told the Associated Press, "It was a good verdict, we are more than satisfied."

In the verdict, 10 of the defendants were sentenced to life in prison, while only one of them was sentenced to 25 years in prison. The crimes they were found guilty of included the killing, torture, sexual violence, and the abduction of children born in captivity.

Hundreds of Victims and Witnesses Testified During Historic Argentina Crimes Against Humanity Trial

The LGBTQ community was one of the most persecuted people during the dictatorship as it espoused "Catholic values" and viewed LGBTQ as subversives in the heterosexual society. This meant that during the dictatorship, it was a crime to be gay in Argentina, and being one could land you in jail, leading to the sexual violence that happened during that dark era of the country.

According to ABC News, 600 victims were involved in the trial on Tuesday, with testimonies from hundreds of witnesses that showed the abuse from the Argentine dictatorial government when it was still in power. Many testified of soldiers stealing babies from their detained mothers before handing them over for adoption.

Argentina President Slammed for Downplaying Dictatorship's Crimes Against Humanity

Before the verdict, human rights groups condemned President Javier Milei when he tried to downplay the atrocities committed during the 1976-1983 dictatorship. There were around 30,000 "disappeared" victims, but the right-wing president claimed. There were no 30,000. For us, during the 70s, there was a war where excesses were committed."

This led to many accusing the president of attempting to rewrite history in favor of the right-wing dictatorship, with many relatives of those victims worried that their fight would soon be forgotten because of Milei.

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Rick Martin

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