[JURIST] A federal judge in Argentina [JURIST news archive] Thursday ordered former president Reynaldo Bignone [Wikipedia profile] arrested for his alleged role in disappearances and human rights abuses during Argentina's 1976-83 "Dirty War"[GlobalSecurity backgrounder; JURIST news archive]. Judge Alberto Suarez Araujo ordered Bignone's arrest as part of an investigation into alleged human rights abuses that occurred at secret detention centers in Buenos Aires during the dictatorship. Bignone has denied any involvement in the disappearance of dissidents during the military regime.

Bignone was the last of Argentina's 1976-83 military dictators before democracy was re-established in 1983. Nearly 13,000 people are officially reported as missing during the military crackdown, although human rights groups say the toll is closer to 30,000 victims. In January, Argentine judges issued two separate warrants [JURIST report] for the arrest of former president Isabel Peron [BBC profile], currently living in exile in Spain, for her alleged role in dirty war disappearances before she left office in 1976. AP has more.