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National Security Council, Memorandum, "Human Rights in Argentina," Confidential, August 28, 1978

• ' 7 '• MEMORANDU M Approved for Public 1'J I Release 8 December 2016 NA TI OJ A L SECUR I TY COUNC IL CO i IBfJN'f ltb 'LillBIS XGDS- 4 August 28 NE YIORANDUM FOR ZBIGNIEW BRZEZINSKI FROM ROBERT PASTOR SUBJECT Human Rights i rgentina Our Embassy in Buenos Aires has sent u s a 14-page singlespaced Memor andum of Convers ation with Alfre do Bravo coPresident and one of the fou nders of the Argentine Permanent Assembly for Human Right s Bravo spent four hours with our Embassy offic ials detailing t h e horrors of his imprisonment and torture by the Buenos Aires police Bravo ' s story is a compelling one and I found myself reading through the entire 1 4- page Memcon thoug h I h ad 1l intended only to sk i m it J rd r ' #I K r • f Because I believe hi s story is important as we beg in to lay 1 the groundwork for a new strategy to Argentina I have pre pared below a shJrt summary of that Memco n ro Bravo's account is that of a classic disappearance --plainclothesmen entered the classroom wher e he was teaching took h im for questioning blindfolded and in an unmarked car Then b egins the ho rro r Bravo was held for ten day s in variou s detention centers During that time he was hooded con s t antly naked and denied food and water The list of tortures he e xperienced and witnessed reads like a primer of cruel and unusual punish ment He himself was -- b eaten both by ha nd and rubber clubs -- subjected to electrical shocks via a four - pronged electric picana until hi s mouth and jaws were paralyzed -- subjected to a bucket treat ment where his feet were held in a bucket of ice water until thoroughly chilled and then shoved into a bucket of boiling water -- subjected to the submarine --r epeatedly being he ld under water unci al o st arowned ee n Is mer IHL 'LitiD - 5 XGDS-4 Classified by z Brzezinski j XGDS -4 Approved for Public Release 8 December 2016 Beyond the phys i cal torture were a v ariety of psy cholog ica l horrors that Bravo was force d t o watch or listen to As he was move d rom detention center to detent i on center Bravo was thr o wn in vans with dead bodies and other aked prisoners showing physical evidence of violent t ortur e -- Group tortur es occurred in which Bravo was placeci in a circle of prisoners holding hands and electricity was applied a woman prisoner was r aped with the g r oup standing by and her boy friend shot whe n he o b jected the group was beaten Throughout the ten days of torture the interroga tion was a litany of ques tions about the activ ities and poli tic al affiliat i on s of people kno wn and unknown to Bravo In the las t session Bravo and a number of other prisoners we r e tak en to a field which appear e d to be a garbage dump Bravo still hooded heard the sounds of beatings and many shots b e ing fired Then he a nd a f e w other prisoners were returned to the truck and to detention F o llowing tha t ep isode further inte rrogation was conducted on an e ntirely di fferent plane--as civilize d p eople conducting a conversation Then Bravo was made a regular prisoner and wa rned not t o talk of what had happened to h im o r he would be found to h ave committed suicide During his months in La Plata priso n Bravo heard other stories paralleling his o wn and worse I In his talk with Embassy officials Bra vo emphas i zed that he was no superman and had cried out with pain like any other man He said he provided this information to sl ow y ou what you are fighting for He asked that the Embassy treatthe info rmation c are fu iTy · as my life is in your hands cc Je ssica Tuc hman NIL fl r r z l eeur ef H Ii' L LI l15I XGDS - 4 Approved for Public Release 8 December 2016 CQNE TDiiWP IA15 'Js I HliH 8 XGDS - 4 TBIS M EHORANDOM OF CONVERSATION IS EXEMPTED FROM THE GENERAL DECLASSIFICATION SCHEDULE PURSUANT TO 5 FAM 924 D AS DI SCLOSURE OF TillS MATERIAL vOllLD PLACE THE SOURCE IN IMMEDIATE JEOPARDY • 'j j ' T i'Jiil $i it 'Js f 18 8 XGDS-4 _ _--- -ca- • ____ · E tll2I8E l'fllth 'LHIOI Approved for Public Release 8 December 2016 XGDS-4 MEMORANDUH OF CONVERSATION July 10 1978 PARTICIPANTS Briefly Mr Al reco Bravo Co-Pres iden Permanent Assembly or Human R1ghts and President Mrs Alfredo Bravo Miss Susana Dieguez Mr John R Higgins Charg d 'Affa ires ad interim American Embassy Buenos Aire s Mr Anthony G Freeman Act1ng Political Counselo r American Embassy Buenos Aires Mr F Al l en Harr is Political Office r American Embassy Buenos Aires PLACE American Embas sy SUBJECT Detention and Interrogation of Alfredo Bra vo Background kr Alfredo Bravo is th c o - president and one of the found ers of the Argentine Pe rmanent Ass embly for Human Rights He is believed to be a Radica l Party sympathizer somewhe re ref t of center e g social- d emocrat or socialist of the vest '' European variety who for a n umber of years has headed the Argentine Teachers ' Union To the Embassy ' s knowledge he has had no connection with any terrorist or subversive o r ganjzation liis abduction in early September 1977 brough t enormous pressures o n the - Argentine government do s t ically and internationally fo r r esolution of hi s disappearance This me mor a ndum is a summary record of a fou r hour conversa t i on regarding Mr Bravo ' s de tention and inte r rogation PreliminD ri s Mr Bravo called Mr Harr i s on July 10 stating that he wished to stop by the Embassy to t hank Mr Harris for his help in obtaininq his release At 5 00p m Mr Bravo accompanied by his wife and the common law wife of one of his La Plata Prison ce 11 mates arrived at the Embassy Nr Bravo thanked 1'1r Ha rr is and the Embassy for thcjr effo -ts in obtaining his release The discussion sta ted out on orison cond tions at La Plata Prison Mr DrDvo st tcd that the prison ' s rul es arc not published and thus are subject to the interpretation of each individual guard He noted that any small infraction resul s i n the pr t soncr bcinCJ confined to the chanchos pig ens G l il 0 IJIIJ 1 115 £ illS I 3 XGDS - 4 - - -- - - - · - -- - -------- - - --·- - - a -- -• - - - --· c o ii' I Q lTI llsb Lit1ofl I 5 2 XGDS-4 Approved for Public Release 8 December 2016 Mr Freeman and later Charge Higgins entered the office and on both occasions Mr Bravo thanked them profusely for the Embassy ' s aid in obtaining his release from prison Detent on and Transit Mr Bravo suggested th at the best way of discussing his case would be to relate in detail what had actually happened to him He said that on September B 1977 he began teaching at about 8 p m Shortly after his class began th re e men entered his classroom showed police identification said he was wanted fo r questioning and escorted him outside to a run - down Renault IV automobile He said h is hand s wer e handcuffed behind his back but that his treatment was correct as long as the vehic l e was in the Federal Capital However after they crossed the bridge into the province of Buenos Aires the Renault pulled off into a side street He was tak e n out of the c ar punched and then blindfolded by the three men The men then discussed amon g themselves that th e y had to kill him One questioned if they had enough gaso line to burn him Another suggested that kerosene would be better a s it disguised the body smell bette r They again p un c hed hi around and fina lly one man stated that they couldn ' t kill h i m because he had to confess fi rst They then handcuff ed his hands in f ront of his body They placed eye glasses he presumed with da r k lens o ver h s blindfold and put a hat on his head and again resumed d riving After a period of ti me the car stopped Bravo heard the sound of buses nearby Be pe e red under an edge of hi s blindfold and noted a modern bar and saw a street sign with 2nd Street on i t i the lettering of street igns used in La P lata the capital of Buenos Aires Province He He saw two uniformed policemen pass by with rif l es thought about calling to them for help but decided that they were probably colleagues of his abductors A new voice gave orders to his abductors on where to take -··· him Th ey then drove to another place There we re a number of other cars there Bravo recalled bumping into several cars before he went up some stairs When he arrived i n the building the voices in the room went silent @@JHF'Il51 IC -'- TAL Lll'ID S XGDS - 4 SCI 2 £52 - - l I£ £1 lJ£ J XGDS-4 3 Approved for Public Release 8 December 2016 At t his time he was stri pped naked his r ngs and his b ief case we re t aken A hoo d was p l aced over his head Bravo noted t h at hoods were changed throughout his interrogation He be l1e ve s that the hoods were of d ifferent colors denot i ng t he po1nt at wh i c h the person was in the i nt e rrogat ion r o ccss He added th at he remained nak ed and b lindfo lded throughout 10 d ays o f interrogation and tort ure He a l s o had no sense o f tine dur1ng t hi s p e r i o F i rst Se ss ion Sho rt ly afte r bein g stripped Bravo was spread eagled on a tabl e lis hood Wi lS removed Be fore any questions were asked Bravo said a four pronged e lectric picana was run o ver h i s chest from his neck to his waist in what he called a rastril l o rake Bravo described th'is as being excruciatingly painful At the star t of thi s sessio n and all fol l owi ng torture se s sion s Bra v o said he was addressed with mocking courtesy as Est imado Alfredo o r Estimado Bravo as i f to sig nal '' hat was to come next The que st i oning d uri n g t h i s se ssio n fo cuss e d on his relations as a top labor leade r with key gov e rnme n t fig ures He recal led the f o llowing specific questions What connection did he ha v e wi th Colonel Re sto n What was his relation with government interventors ··o f t he CGT What was his relati on ship with Genera l Viola What was his relati onship wi th Colone l Lo ng o the Under Secretary of the Mi n istry of Labo r Bravo sa id that he first mentione d the Perma n en t Assembly for Human Rights himself He said that i t was his fi rs t serious error as the Assembly became the constant theme of hi s la t er int errog ations The first round of t orture ended At th is point J3 ravo stated he wa s so ful l of electric ity that his jaws and ongue were pa ra lyzed lie stated he was allowed to rest between rounds until he r e gained some use of his jaw and t ongue At th is point a h el pful voice which he b e li e v es to b e th a t of his caretaker during the t o rture pr oc ess t old h i m do not swallow saliva or drink anything d u r ing or afte r the pica na session A seco nd r o und of rastri llo applications began At t h i s poin t Bri lvo stated he was un a bl e to commun i c at e He had no use of his jaw muscles and tongue Aga in the same questions we re r c p e ut c d r e gardin g his u ni on affiliat i ons lie was i ncapabl e of replying CON F I QJ Sli'J Ii ls 'ls 118 I 8 XGDS-4 CG L 3 111It S ' S - 115 Q XGDS-4 4 Approved for Public Release 8 December 2016 At the conclusion of the second round of p icana applica tions someo n e p ou red water in his mouth This caused him to choke and to gag as h i s mouth and gums felt like th ey were suddenly gross ly swollen He sa1d he would h ave drowned if someone had not come and turned his head to his side and sponged the water from his mouth and from b etwe en h is lips and teeth He mentioned that during this round he was given an i n j ection in the buttocks Bravo believes hat the inject on was some sort of a cardiovascula r stimulant to enab le him physically to endure con t inued elect ric shock treatment Another r o un d bega n with further applic at ions of the ras tr i l lo Bravo vas not oble to reca l l h o w rna ny times the rastr illo was applied to his b od y He remembered that most of t he app lications were to his chest and some to his ribs on his side Cl ose to the end of the third round the rastr illo v as placed on the back of his neck He stated that this was the wot·st as it had c ll r ect shock effect on his brain Mr Sravo noted t h a t du r i n g the second and third rounds he was threatened He reca l led two speci fie threats - - first that we a r e going to d o the same to you as we did to the writer Eduardo Br avo b e l ie v es t hi s is a r e fe r ence to disappeared journalist Ed uardo Sajon Secondly that we are going · to trea t · you the sa me as we treated Air Force Junta Member Ag st i's niece During h is torture Bravo said he heard repeated cries from other nearby rooms At the conclusion o f the last round he was put i n the back of a v an with a man and a woman who he b e l ·ie ves we r e dead He saw through h i s blindfold a p art o f a wo ma n ' s face which wa s beaten bloody He was t ake n to a second place of detention which he d es cribed as a d eposito lie alone vJas taken out of the van Second Session When he entered the deposito a new hood was placed over his head Afte r some time he was taken in t o a roo m and s ubjected t o a torture called el cub o the bucket llis feet were forced into n bucket of icc water lie sc ic1 when he tried to lift hi s feet from the water someone pressed h is knees down fo rc ing his feet back into the bucket His feet were kept in the ice water for f ive or six minute s @611 P BEliT INfs 'IsiPIA I XGDS-4 '- CONFl B SW fiAL 'L lJUIO S 5 Approved for Public Release 8 December 2016 XGDS - 4 After this time had past one of his torturers as if to be nice said t o the others to let Bravo take his eet out Bu t his feet were hen jammed into another pail containing boiling hot water The pain was intense Afte r several mi nu es his feet were again placed back in o the bucket of ice wat er and the questioning began Bravo stated that he a s sub jec ted to four cold - ho cycles during wh i ch t e in t erroga ti on cente red on t he Permanent Assembly for Human Rights The speci ic questions that Mr Bravo reca ll ed focus sed on who provides func1s to the Permanent Assembly Bravo noted that h is interrogators knew the Assembly had received money from the World Council 9£ Churches Ques tions vJere asked about the · foreign connections the Assembly maintains and how the Assembly got its information ·out of the country Other quest ions ea lt with 'the Assembly ' s contacts with th e United States Embassy the Swedish Embassy the French Embassy a nd the Consulate General of It aly Bravo menti o ned that the Italian Ambassador has been unsympathetic to the human rights problem in Argentina but the Consulate General has been very responsive Bra vo was th en carried as he could not walk and placed on · the wooden floor of a sm ll cell Up a staircase a friendly voice consoled him his custodian it was only a few steps more He said he slept for an unknown period of time ' Third Session Some time late r Bravo was taken from his cell and brought into a room where there were other prisoners Bravo said he was told to grab the other prisoners ' hands and they formed a circle Suddenl elect r icity was passed hrough the entire group While h e was held in th is communal torture room a woman was raped in the midst of the other presumably blindfolded prisoners A prisoner shouted that the wo m tn being raped wa s his companera fr i end and went beserk and attacked the guards He was severely beaten Another man was also beaten severely and was thre ate ned wi th being killed Bravo said then o ne of the guards said shove your gun up his anus and suddenly a muffled shot was heard Bravo sa i d that he believes that the man was killed in the room During h i s detention in the room the entire group was beaten severely wjth pinas'' i e punches In response to a question Bravo said that dur i ng h is detention in the room his hands cmrP DE i'f'Hd LI •IeJ XGDS-4 - - - - - - - - -- ' COllfi E 4 IAL LII•IDI3 XGDS - 4 G Approved for Public Release 8 December 2016 we re free He noted that generally his hands and feet were not bou nd e xcept when he was tortured on one or two occasions Af te r a stay of a n unde ter mi ned t ime in the co munal tort rc r oom he a s laced i n another cell on a ceme nt slab He r ecalled that this was the momeP t o his great crisis He broke down sobbed and then slept In r espon se to a ques t o n Bravo stated that he had neither food no r wa t er until the end of h1s i nterroga t ions Fourth Session At some time later he was taken and placed in a van with seven or eight other naked prisoners T ey were forced to lie down on top of one another on the floor of the van During the ride Bravo sa i d th e prisoners whi spered to each otber He le arned t hat a number of the prisoners were workers from the Peugeot fact ory ne a r La Plata One worker said h e worked in the mold departme nt another said his name was Aurelio The v an stopped a l ong the way and some of the prisone rs were taken out He was finally taken out of the van at a third d etent ion facility There he was subjected to the subma-rine With mock courtesy · being called Estimado Alfredo and Estimado Bravo Bravo said he was held under wat e r six or seven times until he wa s wr ithi ng f or air He came up gagging for br eath · Bravo said that the first t wo times after he was subma ined he did not have a chance to catch his breath after being pulled out of the water as he was gasping for air in very small breaths On the third time after he came up he tried to get s much air into his lungs before his head ''as forced back under the water After the repea1't ed submarining he said he was questioned again about the Permanent Assembly Specifically he was questioned regard i ng the goals of the Permanent Assembly abou t t h e contac ts it maintains with other national and international organi za tions Bravo recalled that the focus was on Perman ent Assembly ' s connections with the Communists th e Mo nt o neros the Third World priests and the ERP Bravo sa d t hat after·a lengthy questioning period about the genera l goals and contacts of the Permane nt Assembly i tself he was questioned in detail regarding many members o f the 7 ssP mbJy ' s Jcadersh p lie wa s qucdC'd rcq0rding Jam ie Schmirgeld ' s and Comte- MacDonald's connections w i h the Communis t Party Emilio Mignone's connections with ClJIC I SUE 1 IIH LJ JIIIJ13 XGDS - 4 €S HF I JE Wf l lt h ' L 11 51 XGDS - 4 7 Approved for Public Release 8 December 2016 the Montoneros and Methodist Bisho p Migues Benino phone tic connections with the Third World priests He was asked about t he relations between the Assen ly and a number o f painters sculptors and writers Bravo remembered tha t Julio Corta zar an Argentine writer exiled in France was a particular subject o f questi o ni g He was a so asked about journalist Rodol fo Halsh He said three ersons took turns questioning him durin g this period They asked him to ident ify 20 o r 25 names Some of whom he knew only by the ir position as they had signed Permanent Assembly appeals ot hers he did not know at all The quest ioni ng focussed on the covert political and terrorist affiliations of all th ese ind ividua ls Bravo said this subject became a major ele ment in all hi s future i nterrogations Bravo stated that throughout hi s interrogation he provided only the minima l a mount of information which w'a s pub licly avai l able For example he said h e acknO vledg e d tha t Mignon e was a former Under Secretary at the Ministry of Education that Comte-MaoDonald was a Christian Democrat and that Schrnirgeld was affil i ated with the Communist Party But Bravo said he hed continually denied connections between these Perman ent Assembl y members and the Montoneros the Third World priests and the ERP under intensive and repeated · questioning as he · knew he was telling the tru th and if he - -said what they wanted his fate would be sealed Se ssion F ive While in the same faci lity Bravo stated that he was taken to a r oom ond he wos told to shut his eyes una not to open them until he wa s so ordered His blindfold was t hen removed and the vertical adhes ive strips removed from his eyes Then he was told to · open his -- eyes and not u_o shut them He said what he saw was a Dantesque scene from hell One person chai n ed to the wall in a crucified position another woman whose hands had been horribly burned was sobbing while lyi ng on a t a b le another woman was sitting on a small stool with her hands tied through her legs to a ring on the floor He was then told look well you are a candidate for this if you do not tell us the true political affiliation of these Assembly people lie was then told that he should rest well and that tomorrow they would talk He wa s led back to his cell When he was struggling up the stairs to his cell because of his burnt feet the friendly voice told h i m falta poco arriba eett P HSEid IIPIS Lli IBIS XGDS - 4 ' --w•--·•- •·•- • • ·- - XGDS-4 Approved for Public Release 8 December 2016 Session Six Bravo stated that he vas subsequently take n f -om h is cell and rubber wraps were placed around h1s wri sts and ankles and ropes were tied to hi s limbs He was then hung by his arms f rom the ceiling so that his fee t wer e s us pe nd ed from the floor in the middle of a room A piece of wood was s t rapped between h i s a nkles so he could not move his fe et He was then b e aten with he th i nks a r ubber bato n and questioned agajn rega rd ing the covert political af ili ­ at io n of t he Permanent Assembly members and the Assembly ' s press contacts Bravo was specifically asked how many meetings he had held with foreign new agencies Du r ing this session Bravo said he had a severeybreakdown and be gged hi s torturers to k i ll him as he did not know any thing Dur ing the interroga t ion he was 'asked about a number of peopl e whom he did not know Some were identified as nuns o ther s were Jews from the sound of their names One was a Methodist Minister Raul Aragon Bravo mentioned that he was extensively questioned regarding Jorge Pa scale a former p r iest who curren t ly is the Execut i ve Directo r of the Ecumenica l Movement for Human Rights MEDH and local representative of the Peace and Justice Moveme nt Bravo rroted that many ·quest ions centered on Pasca le who was refer red to as a turncoat pries t as he had left the Church in o rder to marry Bravo commented that his tact ic in a nsweri ng al l these ·· · ' questions wa s to den y all p ossible informa tion to his questione rs and t o provide only that infor mation which was publicly known lie felt that if he answered o ne question aff i rmatively he would be forced to answer the next que stion and under tor£ re he could be made to say anythi ng that his captors wan te d h im to agree to He feared that if he answer ed any questions positively it would lead down a path in which he would be ki lled Bravo noted in passin g th a t he believed he had been held by the Prov incial Police of Buenos Aires He said that Provincial Police de t ention centers are known as caves and each has a number such as cueva numero dos etc He said Federal Police det ent io n facilitie s are called clubs 11 • Sess1on Seven At an unspec i fied time later Bravo was t aken from his cell a nd brought to another room He sen sed 8811FIB li I t15 15 ilBIO XGDS -4 XGDS - 4 Approved for Public Release 8 December 2016 that there were a numbe r of perso s a ound him in a circle His hands were handcuffe d behind him He was again g r e eted as Est1mado Bravo a n d s ea ted i n a chair He was then beaten seve r ely and repeatedly asked resarding th e poli t i ca l affiliation of all t he Permanent Assembly and other names wh i ch h ad bee n ra ised i n previous in terrogation sess1ons After a bre a k h e was aga i n questioned but th is time r ega rdi ng his relat io ns with Ass is tant Secretary of Sta te Derian He was specifica l ly asked abou t th e meetin gs the Permanent Assembly had with h er the rel a tions hi p between t he Permanent Ass embl y and the State Department Bravo deni e d falsely any contact wi th her He sa i d that i f he had acknowledged eve r having me t Deri an this would have led to a series of questions and r eplies which his tort urers would force him to agree to He noted t o us th at he had met with Mrs Deri an duri ng her f i rst visi t to Argentina in th e Buenos Aires a p a rtment bf Dr Westercamp with othe r members of the Permanent Assembly He re membered that Mrs Der an was accompanied by a Spanish - speaking dark ha ir ed person form the Departme n t of State Rondon Bravo at this po i nt recalled that one thing was of comfo rt t o him during all his interr ogations was t he fa ct that he had r eceived a special certificate from th e government which entailed a ful l f_i eld Navy and Army clearance He Y new therefore that there was no d e rog at ory i nformatio n regarding him in the han ds of the security services He emphasized that his torturers who he pres umed ·to be th e Provincial Police of Buenos Aires did not ha e details ' regarding the Der ian - Pe r mane nt Assembly meeting other than the fac t that i t had taken place He felt t h at had he bee n in t he hands o f the Fe deral Police or o f one of the Mi l i t a ry Services th y would have ha d muc h better infor ma t ion regarding the Permanen t Ass emb ly hiq elf and its membership and he wou l d not have been able to deny as much as he did A Break That n ig ht a lar ge nu mb er of persons were brought i nto the i nterrogation center He h eard many vo ice s in the large r oom outside o f the cell door He managed t o peer throug h the cracY under th e doo r and saw three o r fo ur d re ssed young people He learned l ater that a pipe bomb had been set off o n the r ailway in La Pla t a and the Provincial Po lice had co nd ucted a large sca le roundup He was not interrogated for what h e believes s eve ral day s because o f the de t ention center having to p roce ss this larg e number of young suspects Bravo s aid that he beli e ves tha t h e was a t thjs time being held in the Regional Pr ovinci al Police Station No 1 of LQ PlQta During this b r eak he was told COIH' f Bfl 4'f 1 AL Llfilf'H XGDS-4 Approved for Public Release to clean his own cell which he described as rev olting work as priso ners in the detention facilities were not allowed to 8 December 2016 use the bathrooms and defec ated and u r in ted on the i r cell floors In response to a qu es tion he noted that during the first pi cana treatment he had completely los t control of his bodily function s but h a d not lost control during the submarine He wa s allowed to b the During his showe r he had the first dri n k of water that he had during his cap tivi ty Session Eight Some time later Bravo sai d he wa s placed in a truck wi t ·h a · · number of other naked people and d ri ven outs ide of La Pla ta The truck stopped in a muddy area wh ich probably was a garbage dump and the passengers were pushed out of the truck The debris badly hurt his bare feet as he walked on it He heard the sound of others b ei ng be at e Then ma ny s h o ts were fire d including mach i e guns At the conclusion of the f iring he and a few others were l ed back to the truck He believes that the others we re executed He noted th at during the beatings no one cried out When he returned to the prison he was to l d by his ''friendly voice you are saved estas salvada'' Session Nine La ter Bravo said he was b rought t o a room wh ere he was questioned b y a person who he guesses was a military off icer The in terrogation was condu cted in an entirely di ff erent manne r as a conversation betwe en two civilized peopl · Bravo said it was a long session covering much the same ground tha t had bee n covered i n the t orture sessions He did not know how many other people were in th e room or i f there wa s a t ape reco rder present He felt that a door was ope n as he felt the · cold·· air coming in and could also sense daylight Sessio n Ten On what Bravo b eliev es t o be September 20 he was giv en a r azor and allowed to shave hi mse lf although his blindfold was not removed He comme n ted that he had done a poor job sh aving o ff a heavy g r owth of beard He was tak en out of th e deten tion p l ace clothed and i n daylight Obit£ I S _Hi I 11 ££ 2 If IS I 3 XGDS -4 Approved for Public Release Du r ing the sho rt drive from this place to the next site t e 8 December 2016 vehicle carrying him waited for a numbe r of minutes for a tra in to pa ss He also noted t hat the road at one po i n t droppec'l steeply At the n ex t building he sa through the edges of his blindf old un i fo r med policemen Here he was then asked a number of questions f o r a formal statement B r vo said he believes that he was questioned by Colonel Etchecolas former head bod y guar d for ex -Provincial Governor Peronist labor t h ug Ca labro He -vu1s s tartled during this interrogation session because duri ng th e questioning regarding his relati onship with Walsh Etcheco las used the phrase Estimado Bravo and he recognized the voice as being the same in his first interrogation under the four-pr ong picana Session El even Bravo was brought to Buenos Aires Provincial Police Colonel Camps who told him You are complicated threatened Bravo that if he talked of wha t happened he would be found to have committed suicide Bravo then p u t in a c ell wi th a hangman ' s noose hung from and l e ft there Chief Camps to him was a pipe Bravo note d tha t Col Cru p s had pic ures of G ener l Rosas and San Ma rtin in his offite and a small Nazi flag under the glass of his des k ' Bravo ' s Son Questioned Mr s Bravo inter jected that her oldest son had gone to La Plata o n Sep tembe r 22 a bout the poss ibili ty of the family visiting Mr Bravo The Bravo son was interrogated by Col Etchecolas regarding- his father ' s activities and r· his books In r esponse to Bravo son's question as to why his father had been picked up the Colon e l responded that his father v1as a fine gentlemen who had fronted unwittingly for other p eop le He had been picked up because he was the visib l e head of the Permanent Assemb ly The Colonel said the police ha in terrogated his father but had not tortured him The PEN decree on Alfred Bravo was issued on Septemb e r 20 1977 · I ' Conclusion Bravo noted th at he h ad heard tales in La Plata Prison which made his tr ea tment l ook moderate He stated that his streng th to endu r e Lhe q ue L ioning came from the Z C t th at he knev • Qg n II2 16PI I 'LH112 - i XGDS - 4 •• ·- - -t - - - j - - ·--·-··· ·- -· ···- ---· - - ··---- --- '- · lo •••• - - · •• Approved for Public Release he was not involved with terr orism o r subversion He stated that negating every thing possible v •as h is only sa 1 va tion lle 8 December 2016 added it was no t a question of physical will but of psychic will He noted t ha t he h a d three serious breakdowns during the 11 days of his intcrr og t ion He said he wa s no supc rm n and had cried out with pain like any other man He said that he had provided this infor mation to the Embassy to show yo I 1 twha t y ou are fighting for lie asked that the mbassy tree this information care ully as my life is in your hands Treatment in La Plata Jail Bravo stated th a t the jail conditions in La Pla ta were severe A number of the trustees in charge of the prisoners were former A AA members Right wing terr o rists He stated that he had received only one severe beating while in La Plata Prison before his only outside meeting with John M Thompson Secr etary General of the World Conference of Organizations of the Teaching Profession Right of Option In response to an inquiry from r Freeman regard ing his per sonal safety Bravo stated that he was not afraid and noted that everyone ran certain risk He mentioned that on July 5 he and his wif had me t with Under - secretary of Interior Ruis Palacios At that time Palacios said that Bravo could have the right of option to leav e the country _if he wo uld apply for i t Bravo sai he told Palacios that he h a d een offered that opportunity earlie r while in prison and t'ouno it even less attractive now Bravo s aid t hat he was able to work but not allm ed back to his gov ernme nt teaching job lie could not pa rticipa te in either his union or human rights activities under the ter s of his parole status • Pos tscript At a later meeting with Poloff Harris Bravo said th t he wish rl the report of his e xperiences to be sent to Secretary Vance and Mrs Deria n but that he hoped that the information in the re por t - - sanitized to disguise the source -- would be idely circulated to international organizations hum n rights groups l and to interested governments Bravo said t ha t the United • States has information experts and he hoped his information would provide them the raw material for mak ing strong and fact ual reports about the situation in Argentina Bravo sllid thal he had no fears for his personal safety as the government had done everything to hi m that it could ex cept ki ll him But he emphasized he was con cerned _about h is wif e and fami ly who are the ones at risk XGDS-4 · -···-·--- -··- · --- ·-·-- - ------- '- ···- - - -·-·- - -· Public Release Three theories h ve circulated as to the reasonsApproved for 8 December 2016 for Mr Bravo's arrest a that he was in t he process of omenting a teachers' strik e which had the support and sympathy of many teachers who are v ives of members of the Argen ine security forces b t hat it was the outgro t h of a meeting with members of an AFL- CIO delegation two days prior to his arrest AFL-CIO representatives for some time feared that this was che case c that he was a ra bble rouser for the cause of human rig hts and had contacts with foreign · newsmen pa rticularly European interested in playing up the Argentine human rights situation in Europe It was widely known for example that Bravo told a Norwegian TV team a year a nd a half ago that there were 30 000 missing or dead in Argentina as a result of the a nti - subversi on campaign CO ENT We do not doubt the story he has tol d U about the ordeals which he underwent during his interrogation Many of the details in the Bravo report parallel interrogation practices and patte rns previously reported to the Embassy by other subjects The picana the submarine beatings threatened and actua l executio ns the continual repetiti on of questions day after day are usual interrogation techni q ues We have no r eason to doubt Bravo's judgment that he was held by Bue nos Aires Provincial Police It takes only one meeti ng wi th Bravo to recognize that he is a man with exceptional conviction in what he is doing He describes himself as a fighter in the cause of de oFracy He has a vivid hatred for military dictatorships We understand that the Argentine Governmen t answered an inquiry conce rning Bravo's disappearance with the statement t at Bravo was a Marx ist teacher However this Embassy has no information that Bravo had any connections with terr or ist organ izetions or t h at he is or as a member of the Communist Party On the contrary we have received hints that in the past Bravo has cooperated with military authorities in his capacity as a union leader We shou ld note that this is very common in Argentilu given the political r ealities her e Bravo may have level Army and Navy ''clearances wer e f ctors which gave him courage We are awed by Bravo's report that he stood u p to the brutal interrogation s and denied substantial amounts of information - NPI88llTI ds ' 5IJ 18 IS XGDS-4 to lis ih tcrrognlors which h e knew to be tru e do not Approved for Public Release know what to make o f this and at present can only say that 8 December 2016 Bravo indeed mus t be an extraord inary man Dep artment should be a are that ge neral info mation rega c 1ng Bravo's interrogation is circ ul ating wi thin h uman r ig h ts circles in Buenos Aires According to Dravo the fu l deta1ls of his mistreatment a re not k own only that he wa s subjected to extensive torture during his inter r oga t ion END COi'1MENT Dis tr ibutio n P - Und e r Secreta ry Newsom HA - Ms Derian ARl - Mr t·1 cNeil ARA ECA - Mr Bumpus AM S DCM POL LIMDIS Pile • t' ' · Clenrances AMB RCastro draft DCM MChaplin draft POLCOUNS AGFrccm n d raft POL FAHa rri s jk 8 3 78 CGh BElli LdS Li iBIS XGDS- 4 · ' ·· ·- _ - - -·-·-·- -··· ' · ·-· - - • • _ ·- ·····---· ··· ·· ·• _ ···-·----- - -