On Friday, december 11th the ESMA megacausa (large scale trial) started against 19 marine officers who murdered and tortured over 2000 people in the biggest torture center of the dictatorship: the Escuela Superior de Mecánica de la Armada. The cases of 84 victimes will be treated in this trial: among them the killings of Azucena Villaflor (founding member of the madres), the investigative journalist Rodolfo Walsh and the two Frensh nuns Alice Domon and Lénie Duquet.
The most famous is the the “angel of death” Alfredo Astiz. Alfredo Astiz is particularily know for infiltrating the Madres de la Plaza de Mayo by pretenting to be the brother of a kidnapped man. He took part in the meetings of the madres and collected information about their actions. With this information the task force of the military could later overwhelm the madres during their meeting in a church. At this meeting 10 of the madres and two French nuns were kidnapped. None of the women ever reappeared.
The organisation of the H.I.J.O.S. and the madres held a demonstration in front of the court.
