Former soldier reveals Argentine torture in Falklands war

Some soldiers were buried up to their necks in snow, others tied to posts by their limbs.

Badly trained and poorly equipped, Argentine soldiers suffered shocking conditions and even torture during the 1982 Falklands War -- but it was inflicted by their own officers.

"The dictatorship's methods were transported to the Falklands," said former fighter Ernesto Alonso, who has launched a case against Argentina's military command for torturing soldiers during the war.

"In many cases the Falklands situation was being stuck between two enemies," Alonso said, ahead of the 40th anniversary of Argentina's disastrous invasion of the British-held South Atlantic archipelago.

On one side, the British were "killing our comrades in battle," and on the other, Argentine officers were torturing their own men.

The Center for ex-fighters in La Plata, Alonso's home town, has collected statements from dozens of former soldiers and in 2007 opened a court case against Argentina's military leaders for torture during the war.

"It was systematic, there was no precedent for what we went through in the Falklands where the state terrorism was exported," said Alonso.

"Over there the life of a sheep was worth more than a soldier... There were soldiers that died of hunger," added Alonso, who spoke of a "very traumatic experience."

"I was witness to the death of a soldier who was punished by sleeping outside of his position and one morning we found him between the rocks, covered by a poncho, almost frozen with convulsions. He did not survive the cold."

Alonso said he also saw "three soldiers tied to stakes in front of" barracks on Mount Longdon, near the eastern coast of the region.

Many Argentine soldiers came from warm climates and had never before experienced the biting cold of the Falklands' wind.

The court case involves 180 incidents, with around 100 members of the military implicated, although only four are to be prosecuted.

The trial has been delayed while the Supreme Court of Argentina decides whether or not such torture constitutes a crime against humanity.