Ex-Argentine army chief sentenced to life

A court has sentenced one of Argentina's most feared former military leaders to life in prison for the 1977 kidnapping, torture and killing of four leftist activists.Luciano Benjamin Menendez, 81, was commander of the Third Army Corps in Cordoba for five years during Argentina's 1976-83 military dictatorship and controlled one ... ...the regime's most notorious torture centres.Hours before the sentencing, an unrepentant Menendez read a statement in front of live television cameras saying the regime's repression had been justified in the face of a leftist militant threat.''We had to take appropriate measures,'' he said.Menendez, who was already under house arrest for previous ''dirty war'' convictions, will be transferred to a prison following yesterday's conviction and sentencing.Hundreds of people gathered outside the courtroom, many holding placards and pictures of the alleged victims erupted into cheers upon hearing the verdict, which was read on local television stations.The verdict was important both because of Menendez's gruesome reputation and because he was ordered to serve the rest of his sentence in prison.Many convicted former military officers are serving their sentences under house arrest, as allowed by an Argentine law that applies to those over 70 years old or of poor health.A court can choose to send them to prison anyway, however, as was the case with Menendez.Six other former military officers and one civilian were also convicted on Thursday in connection with the killings of the activists and given sentences ranging from life in prison to 18 years.

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