Law: Habeas Corpses

"Disappearing"in Argentina

The body of Guillermo Diaz Lestrem turned up like a ghastly flower in Buenos Aires' elegant Palermo Park late last fall. The cause of death was heart failure and fluid in the lungs; the corpse had bruises on the face and neck. Shortly before he vanished, Lestrem, a defense lawyer and former judge, had prepared a writ of habeas corpus-on his own behalf. He had discovered that unknown men were looking for him and feared that he would become yet another of Argentina's "desaparecidos."

To "disappear" in Argentina means to be taken away by men in mufti who claim to be...