Spanish police have arrested Juan Carlos Fotea, wanted in Argentina for the abduction of writer and journalist Rodolfo Walsh during Argentina's "dirty war" in 1977, a court official said today.
Fotea, formerly a member of Argentina's military, appeared before a High Court judge who decided he should be jailed pending extradition proceedings.
Fotea, who was arrested in Madrid, protested his innocence, adding that he had performed his military duty, the court official said. He said he would fight the extradition proceedings.
Walsh, who openly defied Argentina's military dictatorship, disappeared in March 1977.
Fotea is accused of taking him to the infamous Navy School of Mechanics where many of the government's opponents were tortured and killed during the "dirty war" of 1976-1983, the court official said.