Argentina: Dissident killer gets life

BUENOS AIRES, July 24 (UPI) -- A former Argentine army officer was sentenced to life in prison Thursday for the torture and deaths of four leftist dissidents.

Luciano Benjamin Menendez was convicted of playing a role in the deaths of the opposition activists during the country's military dictatorship known as the "Dirty War," (1976-1983), La Nacion reported online.

The sentencing of the 80-year-old Menendez was watched by hundreds of Argentines on a giant-screen TV placed outside the courthouse.

In the moments before his sentencing an adamant Menendez said he was fighting a battle against communist subversives.

Some 30,000 people were killed or disappeared during the Dirty War.

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