Chilean police arrest fugitive Argentine judge

SANTIAGO: A fugitive judge accused of human rights violations during Argentina's 1976 to 1983 military dictatorship was
24 Feb, 2012

"Otilio Romano was arrested in Renaca this Friday at noon and was made available to the Supreme Court," a Chilean police source told AFP.

Romano entered Chile August 24 seeking political asylum and was given an eight-month visa. He was declared a fugitive the next month after failing to respond to an Argentine court summons.

Chilean Supreme Court judge Adalis Oyarzun issued the arrest warrant after examining an extradition request from Argentina, a judicial source told AFP.

Romano, 68, entered Chile one day before being suspended by Argentina's judicial council.

Interpol, the international police organization, also issued an arrest warrant for the Argentine judge.

Romano is accused of being a primary participant in 103 cases involving alleged human rights abuses committed during Argentina's military dictatorship, when he was a prosecutor in Mendoza.

The charges were leveled against him in August.

Media reports indicated Romano was living at a resort 120 kilometers (75 miles) west of Santiago when he was arrested.

He still has a right to appeal the arrest warrant, the judicial source said.

Copyright AFP (Agence France-Presse), 2012

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