Dutch-Argentine pilot arrested for ‘death flights’

The Hague — A pilot for a Dutch airline was arrested in Spain Tuesday over "death flights" allegedly flown for the Argentinian military dictatorship of the 1970s and 80s, the ministry of foreign affairs said on Wednesday.

"I can confirm that a pilot from the Transavia airline was arrested in Valencia yesterday," foreign ministry spokesman Herbert Brinkman told AFP.

"He has dual Dutch and Argentinian nationality. He was arrested at the request of the Argentinian authorities for allegedly carrying out death flights for the former Argentinian junta."

Transavia spokeswoman Anita Sunter confirmed the arrest at the Valencia airport on Tuesday afternoon, and said the pilot had been about to fly a plane back to the Netherlands.

"We are waiting to be informed of the charges," said the spokeswoman, who declined to provide any information on the pilot.

An estimated 30,000 people went missing, presumed dead, during the last Argentine military dictatorship from 1976 to 1983.

Among the modes of disappearance were so-called "death flights", in which political prisoners were drugged and dumped into the sea from planes.

AFP / Expatica