Dutch-Argentinian pilot Julio Poch denies having had anything to do with 'death flights', when political prisoners were dropped out of aircraft into the sea during the Argentinian dictatorship in the 1970s. Mr Poch was arrested two weeks ago in Spain at the request of the Argentinian public prosecutor. However, earlier evidence on the death flights suggests that it is likely he was involved.

 
Information on the death flights only came out years after the fall of the junta that ruled Argentina from 1976 to 1983. The revelation was chiefly down to Argentinian former senior officer Adolfo Scilingo. Troubled by his conscience, he brought the story into the open in the mid-1990s.

His statements might have a bearing on the coming trial of Mr Poch. Scilingo said that officers had to take it in turns to take part in the flights. Making everyone an accessory would reduce the chance of someone spilling the beans. In this way a so-called 'pact of silence' was created which persisted for years - until Scilingo broke it.

 
"There was a flight every Wednesday. Different officers were assigned to carry out the flights in rotation. So that as many members of the navy as possible would be involved," said Scilingo in a documentary by Spanish lawyer Baltasar Garzón.

 
Inevitable
Scilingo's statements are 13 years old, but are telling when it comes to the role of Julio Poch. Because of the rotation system, it is unlikely that he flew death flights every Wednesday. But at the same time it makes it highly probable that he did so at least once, simply because he worked for the ESMA during the period and his turn would inevitably have come.

 
This is confirmed by Theo van Boven, emeritus professor of international law at the University of Groningen who was a UN rapporteur on torture during the Argentinian dictatorship. "The chance that this man carried out at least one flight and perhaps more would be plausible."

 
Signal
According to Adolfo Scilingo, during each flight around 15 prisoners were dropped into the sea. In total around 1000 people were killed in this way. Scilingo also described the role of the pilots during the flights. Although they didn’t actually throw the prisoners into the sea, they determined the moment it would happen.

 
"As soon as the flight commander gave the order, when he was informed that we were over the open sea, they were thrown into the sea one by one," said Scilingo. The information on the position of the aircraft came from the pilot, who thus gave the signal for the executions to begin.

 
French nuns
The Argentinian public prosecutor has not revealed how much weight has been placed on Scilingo’s evidence in the extradition application. Julio Poch is charged with complicity in the murders of a thousand prisoners, including two French nuns and an Argentinian journalist. In a Spanish court on Tuesday, he denied any involvement.
 

If Julio Poch’s case comes to trial, he could face a long prison sentence. Scilingo, who was present during two flights, was jailed for 640 years, which he is currently serving in Spain.
 

RNW translation (mb)