Milani was accused of concealment and ideological falsehood for the document he presented to Ledo as a deserter
The case dates back to June 1976. Ledo was fulfilling Mandatory Military Service and was forcibly removed from the location where he was by order of then-captain Esteban Sanguinetti. It was later confirmed that he was a victim of enforced disappearance and homicide. Sanguinetti was sentenced to 14 years in prison.
The Supreme Court of Justice revoked the acquittal of César Milani, former head of the Army during the presidency of the convicted Cristina Kirchner, in the case that investigated his actions following the disappearance of soldier Alberto Agapito Ledo in 1976. The decision requires a review of the ruling that had favored the former second lieutenant during the military dictatorship.
Milani had been brought to trial accused of concealment and ideological falsehood of a public document for his involvement in the preparation of the record that falsely presented Ledo as a deserter. The accusation did not attribute to him participation in the kidnapping or murder of the conscript, although his forgery would presumably place him among the accomplices or responsible for the disappearance.
The decision was made with the votes of Horacio Rosatti, Ricardo Lorenzetti, and the associate judge Juan Ignacio Pérez Curci, who accepted the arguments of the Attorney General's Office. Carlos Rosenkrantz voted in dissent. Another associate judge, Luis Renato Rabbi Baldi Cabanillas, also expressed the opinion to annul the acquittal, although with his own reasoning.
The Attorney General's Office had questioned the decisions of the Federal Oral Court of Tucumán and the Federal Criminal Cassation Chamber, considering that they did not thoroughly evaluate the circumstances of the case before concluding that Milani was unaware that Ledo had been a victim of a crime.
Milani, who was then 21 years old and a second lieutenant, was appointed to intervene in the desertion process initiated after the disappearance. According to the accusation, he allegedly incorporated false information into the record and contributed to concealing what happened.
In December 2019, the Federal Oral Court of Tucumán acquitted Milani on the grounds of reasonable doubt. Two years later, Chamber I of the Federal Criminal Cassation confirmed that decision. Both the Attorney General's Office and the plaintiffs appealed the ruling to the Court.
