The 69-year-old was found guilty of the death of then 24-year-old architecture student and left-wing activist Hernan Abriata in 1976
A FORMER ARGENTINE police officer was sentenced to 15 years in prison today for the torture and disappearance of a student 46 years ago under the South American country’s last military dictatorship.
He was extradited from France in 2019 after a long period of exile and a legal battle, and put on trial for only one such case: the death of then 24-year-old architecture student and left-wing activist Hernan Abriata in 1976. Sandoval is accused of having been one of the most active agents of the notorious Navy Mechanics School , which served as the country’s largest detention and torture facility.
Survivors say Sandoval, apparently given the nickname “grilled steak” for torturing prisoners tied to a metal bed frame with electricity, was particularly active in the ESMA. He has repeatedly proclaimed his innocence.Sandoval fled to France in 1985, two years after the military junta fell, and built a new life there as a defense and security consultant.He was discovered by a student at the Sorbonne after ex-ESMA prisoners recognized him from photos.