MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Pre-trial detention imposed on Uruguayan torturing physician

Suzacq practiced medicine in Spain for 29 years

Uruguay's Judiciary placed physician Carlos Suzacq Fiser under pre-trial detention for his alleged involvement in torture practices exerted by the military dictatorship (1973-1985) against prisoners, it was reported Friday in Montevideo.

Suzacq, who allegedly used his professional expertise to advise interrogators on “when to stop or continue with the tortures” in the early 1970s, was extradited from Spain where he had been practicing medicine for 29 years thanks to his Spanish nationality.

His acts “would constitute the crimes of abuse of authority against detainees, serious injuries and unlawful deprivation of liberty [which qualify] as crimes against humanity,” it was explained. He is being prosecuted for repeated crimes of deprivation of liberty, injuries, and violence.

Human rights organizations have produced evidence that Suzacq prepared “medical records” for more than 40 detainees and tortured people. He is accused of overseeing the torture process against Luis Eduardo González in 1974, who reportedly died under torture on December 26, 1976 in the 6th Cavalry Regiment, and whose body is still missing.

According to witness Elena Zaffaroni, Suzacq resuscitated “the detainees when they suffered cardiac arrest during torture.” Zaffaroni, who leads a group that brings together relatives of 192 disappeared Uruguayans said that many years after these events, another victim learned that Suzacq Fiser visited Uruguay every year to meet with his family while he lived in Madrid. After being found in the Spanish telephone directory, Suzacq admitted to having served in the Sixth Cavalry Regiment but said he knew nothing about the disappearance of Zaffaroni's husband.

In March 2021, Spain extradited Colonel Eduardo Ferro, who was also wanted on charges of crimes against humanity within the “Condor Plan”, the coordination among Latin American dictatorships in the 1970s against political opponents.