Part I
The Repression

Nunca Más (Never Again) - Report of Conadep  - 1984
 

Disappearance of sr. Federico Manuel Vogelius - File N° 7350

Currently living in London, England, the following statements were made in his testimony to this Commission:

In relation to the case resulting from the forced kidnapping I suffered 29 September 1977, I would like to state that having been held by the military authorities, in May 1978 I met Colonel Sánchez de Bustamante, who was the investigating officerin charge of the case that the military authorities wanted to bring against me. Sánchez de Bustamante introduced me to Colonel Pérez González who presided over the Military Tribunal 1/1 and claimed to be responsible for the investigation of my kidnapping. He showed me a number of photographs of suspects, and I recognized one of them as precisely the person from whom I had managed to escape. Colonel Pérez González told me his name was Quieto, and that he denied having been involved in any way with the incident, or knowing who I was. I asked for a meeting with this man, and this was arranged. Quieto then confessed his membership of one of the groups that kidnapped me but claimed that the affair 'was very serious', and requested guarantees for himself and for his wife. At the same time he asked Pérez Gonzálezto find out from General Suárez Mason whether he could make declarations on the subject. I left things in Colonel Pérez González' hands and after a few days returned to find out if there was any news. He made me come into his office, and his only reply was to say that General Suárez Mason had withdrawn the case, telling him he was no longer responsible for the matter. When I stated that this would be referred to the judge who was hearing the case of my kidnapping, Pérez González replied with these words 'Regrettably I will have to deny everything because I am a military man and I obey orders.' After my activities were investigated by Colonel Sánchez de Bustamante, he recommended I be set free. In spite of this recommendation, I was kept under arrest while General Suárez Mason had my case investigated by virtually all the security organizations, as a result of which I was held for approximately nineteen months. However, while I was held in the Villa Insuperable Police Station, in February 1978, my property in San Miguel was looted. I had paintings, silver and historical documents stolen worth approximately two million dollars. The involvement of the Army in this crime was so obvious that LieutenantColonel San Román and a Secretary of the Court of Summary jurisdiction of Buenos Aires, a man by the name of Isasi, were put in preventive detention.