Two former Argentine dictators were handed heavy prison sentences Thursday for overseeing the systematic kidnapping of babies from leftist activists killed during the 1976-1983 dictatorship.
Jorge Videla, 86, was sentenced to 50 years in prison and Reynaldo Bignone, 84, was given a 15-year jail term, presiding judge Maria Roqueta said as she read the ruling before a packed courtroom in Buenos Aires.
Hundreds of people -- relatives of the victims, children reunited with their families and activists -- cheered the ruling, which they watched on a giant television screen set up outside the courthouse. Many were in tears.
Several other former military officers were handed sentences of up to 40 years for their roles in a ‘systematic plan’ to kidnap the babies of activists.