Federal judge María Romilda Servini plans to appear in March at the Embassy of Argentina in Madrid to take a statement to Rodolfo Martín Villa of Argentina. In fact, in Argentina, he is being investigated for his alleged responsibility in the murders by state apparatus committed in the 1970s.

The Spanish Government has refused to take the declaration of inquiry that was scheduled for 20 March, as reported by the Public Journal. The Ministry of Justice, which has been in the hands of Juan Carlos Campo since 13 January, has rejected the formal request for declaration by international request.

Martin Villa is one of 22 persons charged in Argentina's lawsuit against Franco's crimes and is being investigated as Minister of the Interior for his alleged responsibility in the 3 March massacre.

 

 

 

 

The Government denies that obstacles have been placed

The Government of Spain has refused to object to the controversy that has arisen in recent days following the decision of the Supreme Court. The Ministry of Justice has reported that at the end of last January they received a request for information from Argentina, but that they have not yet answered.

According to the information published by Publico, the petition arrived in Argentina on 28 January, but the government has not yet responded and in these cases they will answer "in the usual time and form", explained government sources.

For its part, the State Coordinator for the Protection of Querella Argentina (CeAQUA), who brings together associations and victims of the dictatorship and the transition, denounced this Thursday at a press conference that there are impediments to Judge María Servini not questioning former minister Rodolfo Martín Villa at the Madrid embassy.

In search of Martin Villa

A few years ago, Servini asked the Spanish Government to extradite Rodolfo Martín Villa and to question the justice of that country for the crimes attributed to him in the file for his office. It was not successful under the Amnesty Act, which has been in force in Spain since 1977.

After the historical constraints, 30 memorialist groups of the Spanish State presented in January 2019 the trial against Martín Villa! Campaign. These include the March 3 Association and other associations of the Basque Country. Among other things, a video analyzed the criminal trajectory of Rodolfo Martín Villa, sentenced to eight years in prison.

On one occasion and another, they recalled the "important role" he played as a minister in deaths from police violence during his term in office. 3 March 1976 in Vitoria, II May 1977. The Week for Amnesty in Euskal Herria, the Sanfermines of 1978 in Pamplona, the Scala case in Barcelona or the Black Week in Madrid are some of the issues they have remembered.

In addition, they have denounced that the cases registered in Málaga, Tenerife, Alicante and other places in the foral community of Navarra "also continue to occur in total impunity". Between 1975 and 1979, police repression and police custody caused more than 90 deaths.

Video presentation of the campaign "Judge Martin Vila".