Argentina Confirms Jailing of 3 Leaders in Falklands War

The Defense Ministry confirmed Friday that the three members of the ruling military junta that started and lost Argentina’s war with Britain over the Falkland Islands in 1982 were convicted of negligence and sentenced to prison for terms ranging from eight to 14 years.

A communique said that the Armed Forces Supreme Council, the nation’s highest military tribunal, imposed these sentences: Gen. Leopoldo F. Galtieri, the army commander who served as president, 12 years; Adm. Jorge I. Anaya, the navy commander, 14 years, and Gen. Basilio Lami Dozo, chief of the air force, eight years. All were stripped of the their rank and privileges as retired officers.

Galtieri, Anaya and Lami Dozo were convicted of violating an article in the Code of Military Justice that deals with “the military crime of negligence.”

Proceedings against the three, which began in November, 1983, were held in private. According to periodic leaks from the trial, Gen. Hector Canale, the military prosecutor, charged that the trio led the country into a war for which it was not prepared.

Galtieri was ousted from office two days after Argentina surrendered to Britain in June, 1982. Anaya and Lami Dozo were retired soon afterward, and the junta that replaced them speeded this country’s return to civilian rule in December, 1983.