Argentina Frees 4 Held in State of Siege

A day after declaring a state of siege to ensure the detention of 12 militant rightists, President Raul Alfonsin faced a new legal challenge Saturday when a judge freed four of the rightists, citing lack of evidence.

Judge Luis Velazco ordered that army Col. Pascual Guerrieri, Maj. Jorge Granada, Capt. Leopoldo Cao and journalist Daniel Rodriguez be released because authorities had failed to present any evidence against them.

The four were among six current and former army officers and six civilians ordered arrested by Alfonsin for alleged involvement in a series of bombings and threats against his 21-month-old elected government. Alfonsin on Friday decreed a 60-day state of siege in a move to confine the 12 for that period of time.

Ties to Military Regime

All 12 suspects had strong links to the military regime that ruled the country from 1976 to 1983.

The government quickly filed an appeal to Velazco’s ruling. Justice Minister Carlos Alconada Aramburu said that under state of siege regulations no evidence has to be presented to keep suspects jailed.

“It is alarming to national security that people charged by the president with causing serious public disturbances would be set free,” Alconada Aramburu told reporters.

Streets Appear Normal

On Saturday, the country’s first full day under a formal state of siege since the return of democratic rule in December, 1983, there were no visible signs of the decree’s application. Families crowded the streets as usual in residential neighborhoods, shopping and strolling in the capital’s many plazas on a spring afternoon in the Southern Hemisphere.

There was no noticeable increase in the number of police on patrol.

Alfonsin first ordered the 12 suspects arrested on Tuesday, saying the government had uncovered a coordinated campaign of subversion that included a a number of small bombings, a wave of telephone threats and other acts of terror designed “to create a climate of terror and insecurity.”

In ordering the arrests, he cited special powers under the same clause that allows the president to declare a state of siege. But on Thursday a judge ruled the order was unconstitutional because no such siege declaration had been made.

Election Going Ahead

Alfonsin then decreed a 60-day nationwide state of siege, but he promised that “constitutional guarantees and rights will remain in effect” except for the 12 suspects.

Authorities said political activity will be allowed and that Nov. 3 elections for national, provincial and municipal legislators will be held as scheduled.