Adriana Rut Marcus and Alicia Ruszkowski, both survivors of the Clandestine Detention Center that operated at ESMA, will testify on Monday in the trial of ex-marine Adolfo Miguel Donda for the appropriation of his niece and restored granddaughter Victoria Donda Pérez, according to the complaint that the Grandmothers of Plaza de Mayo association continues in this case.
María Hilda “Cori” Pérez (Victoria’s parent) was kidnapped five months pregnant in the western zone of the Buenos Aires suburbs, on March 28, 1977.
María Hilda was in a relationship with José Laureano Donda, both were active in the Montoneros organization and had a five-month-old daughter, Eva, who was in the care of her maternal grandmother at the time.
José was kidnapped in May 1977 and the couple was seen at the 3rd Police Station in Castelar and, in August of that year, the young woman was transferred to the ESMA, where she gave birth to a girl whom she named Victoria, in a delivery assisted by the military doctor Jorge Luis Magnacco.
While she was in the ESMA pregnant women’s room, Cori had received a visit from a sailor, and she told her fellow captives that it was her brother-in-law and gave them the name of the repressor: Adolfo Donda.
Victoria was appropriated by the prefect Juan Antonio Azic, who together with Donda integrated the task forces that operated from ESMA.
When her niece was born Donda was not part of the stable group of ESMA repressors, but was seen on a few occasions.
But since 1978 that was his destiny, where he came to be in charge of the headquarters of Operations and tactical intelligence of that unit dependent on the Navy.
?️On Monday, February 27, starting at 10, two ESMA survivors testify in the trial against the genocidal Adolfo Donda.
➡️https://t.co/GbjqRUexW3– Grandmothers Plaza Mayo (@abuelasdifusion) February 24, 2023
In October 2004 Victoria was restored and learned that she was the daughter of María Hilda and José, who are still missing.
The hearings of this trial will be in charge of the Federal Oral Court Number 6 of the City of Buenos Aires -made up of judges Ricardo Basilico, Daniel Horacio Obligado and Gabriela López Iñíguez- and will be held on Monday mornings, with mixed modality, the face-to-face sessions will be in Room “A” located on the ground floor, in the Courts of Av. Comodoro Py 2002 and the virtual ones can be followed via YouTube, on the Judiciary page (youtu.be/LwrLp1anop0) and by La Retaguardia (youtube.com/channel/UCRYqgxVNRz9pbdiHBsH-RAQ), was consigned from Abuelas.
