AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL

PRESS RELEASE

AI Index: AMR 45/002/2006 (Public)

News Service No: 216

17 August 2006

Paraguay: The search for truth and justice continues

Published

The death of General Alfredo Stroessner should serve as a reminder to the Paraguayan authorities of the need to step up investigations into human rights violations committed during his period in government and so continue the search for truth and justice, said Amnesty International today.

Amnesty International made a special appeal to the authorities in Paraguay to protect and allow access to the secret files kept by the security forces of General Stroessner’s government – discovered in 1992 and known as the “terror files” – and give effective support to the work of the Truth and Justice Commission.

The files contain information on grave human rights abuses committed while General Stroessner’s government was in power in Paraguay (1954-1989) and in the context of “Operation Condor”.

"The search for truth and justice by thousands of people across Paraguay and Latin America makes it an imperative for the Paraguayan authorities to protect the ‘terror files’ and investigate those people who were involved in the serious offences committed by the Stroessner government who are still at large and continue to enjoy impunity" said Virginia Shoppee, an Amnesty International researcher on Paraguay.

Thousands were victims of arbitrary detentions, torture, “disappearances” and forced exile, both in Paraguay and in the context of “Operation Condor” while General Stroessner’s government was in power.

General information

General Alfredo Stroessner died on Wednesday, 16 August in Brasilia, where he had been living in exile since 1989. He was 93.

Public Document

****************************************

For more information please call Amnesty International's press office in London, UK, on +44 20 7413 5566

Amnesty International, 1 Easton St., London WC1X 0DW. web: http://www.amnesty.org

For latest human rights news view http://news.amnesty.org