He was first convicted of crimes committed during this period in 1986; the full stop law, which passed that year and created amnesty for security officers, meant that he was released without a sentence.

[2] He was also deemed responsible of the "Night of the Pencils", where 10 high-school students were abducted by security forces in the city of La Plata near Buenos Aires in September 1976.

[3] For his actions in the Provincial Police during El proceso, in 2006 he was tried, convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment, on numerous charges of homicide, illegal deprivation of freedom (kidnapping), and torture.

The Trial of Juntas began in 1985, and numerous top figures were prosecuted, including General Ramón Camps, who was convicted and sentenced to life.

[8] After his release, Etchecolatz wrote a book defending his actions, called La otra campaña del Nunca Más (The Other Never Again Campaign).

"[6] In 2001, the Gristellis were seen shielding Etchecolatz as he left court in Buenos Aires; they reportedly used violence against left-wing demonstrators who allegedly confronted and insulted the former police officer.

[6] Etchecolatz also faced civil trials, which were outside the purview of the Pardon Laws (these had covered acts that were committed in the context of military or police procedure).

Although Etchecolatz's lawyers claimed he had a terminal illness, after police found a firearm in his home in 2006 in violation of the terms of house arrest, he was transferred to the Marcos Paz prison.

[10][11] In 2003, Congress repealed the 1986 "Pardon Laws" (Ley de Punto Final), and re-opened investigation and prosecution of crimes committed during the Dirty War.

[4][5] It was the first time that the term genocide was used in Argentine trials to characterize the crimes committed against political prisoners, and the court explained its reasoning.

[4](See footnote quote in Lead)[5] Together with Police Chief Ramón Camps, Etchecolatz is believed to have operated at least eight clandestine detention centres in La Plata, Quilmes, Banfield, and Martínez.

López, a 77-year-old retired mason with Parkinson's disease, was initially thought to have suffered post-traumatic stress disorder after re-living his ordeal during the trial, or chosen to hide after being threatened.

[15] Human and civil rights organizations allege that active and retired provincial police personnel took part in the kidnapping of López, to intimidate other witnesses and impede future trials.

The text was "well-written" and correctly addressed, and contained covert threats, pointing out that the senders "are bound, as citizens, to monitor that [judicial officials] fulfill their functions", and that "this farce will end soon, and those who have not honored their posts will be accountable to a particularly impartial court".