MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Argentina declassifies documents on disappearance of Swedish teenager in 1977

The Argentine Junta never admitted that a young naval officer Alfredo Astiz, later imprisoned for that crime and other similar actions, was involved.

Argentina's foreign ministry is releasing 'secret documents' related to the kidnapping and disappearance of the Swedish teenager Dagmar Hagelin in 1977 during the last military dictatorship, and which at the time crated a longstanding serious diplomatic rift between the two countries.

 The Argentine Junta never admitted that a young naval officer Alfredo Astiz, later imprisoned for that crime and other similar actions, was involved.

According to an official release, the documents include two dossiers belonging to the ministry's Juridical Issues Desk dating back to 1978. The first is made up of 114 pages plus eleven secret documents and the second, thirty pages and two secret documents.

They are a collection of communications and actions undertaken by Sweden and Ragnar Hagelin, father of the victim to try and save the life of his daughter. The material also includes another additional 19 secret documents. These are made up of reports, letters, telegrams, résumés and involve presidents, ministers, magistrates and the head of the Argentine Navy and member of the ruling junta in 1983.

The day following the kidnapping on 28 January 1977m Ragnar Hagelin made the official disappearance claim at the Swedish embassy in Buenos Aires. From that very moment Swedish ambassador Thyberg contacted his Argentine peer in Stockholm, Boatti Ossorio demanding urgent consideration of the case. On 3 May 1977, Sweden's Prime Minister Thorbjëra Fülldin sent a telegram to the head of the military junta, Jorge Videla calling for the investigation to find Ms Hagelin to continue.

However in repeated communications and telegrams the Argentine military Junta argued it had no knowledge of the case and discarded the testimonies of those who witnessed the kidnapping of Dagmar.

However the Swedish authorities considered the replies 'unacceptable' and pointed out to the direct link between the Argentine Navy, more specifically former Lieutenant Alfredo Astiz, (also known as the 'death angel', because of his baby face) with the kidnapping and disappearance of Dagmar Hagelin.

To look for declassified documents, http://desclasificacion.cancilleria.gob.ar

Dossier 1 :
http://desclasificacion.cancilleria.gob.ar/userfiles/documentos/HAGELIN-ASTIZ/60AH28399_001a_030.pdf

Dossier 2:
http://desclasificacion.cancilleria.gob.ar/userfiles/documentos/HAGELIN-ASTIZ/60AH27542_001a_114.pdf