The 2nd Turn Court of Appeals confirmed the prosecution of retired military Juan Rebollo for the murder of Silvia Reyes, Laura Raggio and Diana Maidanik in April 1974, a case known as “The girls of april“.
As reported by La Diaria and confirmed The Observerthe court confirmed the ruling that Judge Isaura Tórtora had issued in 2021, in which Rebollo was prosecuted with prison along with José Gavazzo and Eduardo Klastornick, both deceased.
The prosecutor specializing in crimes against humanity, Ricardo Perciballe, told The Observer that this ratification of the Court “confirms the position of the Prosecutor’s Office”. “It’s a clear homicide, could not be protected as legitimate defense (as requested by Rebollo’s defense attorneys),” Perciballe said.
The case
Laura Raggio, Silvia Reyes -both 19 years old- and Diana Maidanik, 22, were shot by the Joint Forces of the de facto government in 1974 and became known as the “girls or girls of April”.
Inside there were three women: the owner of the house, Silvia Reyes, 19, and two friends, Laura Raggio and Diana Maidanik, both psychology students —Maidanik also a kindergarten teacher—, who would have stayed to study and sleep.
The three were militant comrades in the Movimiento de Liberación Nacional-Tupamaros (MLN-T), a left-wing urban guerrilla that emerged in the 1960s, in which —according to their relatives— they dedicated themselves to tasks such as distributing flyers and “not They had grabbed a gun.”
In 2021, three retired soldiers accused of the crime were prosecuted: Juan Rebollo, José Gavazzo and Eduardo Klastornick. All three have stated that they opened fire only after they had been attacked from inside the house.
Rebollo, who was in command of the operation, declared having suffered a gunshot wound to the arm. But prosecutor Perciballe considers that this version does not match with what was reported by the experts, nor by the testimonies of neighbors.
Act suspended
The relatives of the victims decided to request that the public act of reparation for this crime, which was to take place this week, be suspended. The reason is linked to the fact that President Luis Lacalle Pou was not going to attend and instead would be represented by Vice President Beatriz Argimón, something with which the relatives of the victims did not agree.
In a letter addressed to the IACHR, the relatives expressed their annoyance at this decision, confirmed to The Observer Martin Fernandez, lawyer from the Institute of Legal and Social Studies of Uruguay (Ielsur), an organization that represents the relatives.
As the relatives understand, it is Lacalle Pou who should attend the public event in his role as commander of the Armed Forces.
“The president’s presence at the act is a central aspect to turn the instance into a true act of reparation for the victims as well as to send a message to society, and especially to the Armed Forces, which are the ones who have the majority of the information necessary to find the whereabouts of the remains of the disappeared persons“, says a letter sent to the IACHR.
