Spain will not extradite Isabel Peron

Spain will not extradite former Argentine President Isabel Peron after a court ruled today that she was not linked to cases of…

Spain will not extradite former Argentine President Isabel Peron after a court ruled today that she was not linked to cases of disappearance and torture during her government in the 1970s.

The 77-year-old widow of Juan Peron, who has lived in Spain since 1981, is wanted by an Argentine court for the disappearances of two men and torture of one of them in 1976.

Spain's High Court said in a ruling there was no evidence that crimes were committed in relation to the cases by Peron, who was deposed in a coup in 1976 that brought a military junta to power.

The former cabaret dancer, whose real name is Maria Estela Martinez, was the third wife of Juan Peron, who made her his deputy. She succeeded him on his death in 1974 and became the first female president in the Americas.

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She presided over a period of increasing political violence by leftist guerrilla groups and rightist death squads while the economy slid into chaos.

Ms Person spent five years in prison after the coup, before being sentenced to an eight-year term on March 20th, 1981, for embezzling public funds. She was released later that year and flew to Spain.