An estimated 30,000 people disappeared during Argentina’s military dictatorship, which launched a violent campaign against suspected leftwing political critics in the 1970s and 80s.

Kyburg was the alleged commander of an elite navy unit believed to be responsible for the deaths of at least 150 people, and escaped to Berlin in 2013 after fellow members of the military taskforce he belonged to were convicted in Argentina.

He had dual Argentinian-German citizenship, and lived in apparent peace for seven years until his presence in the capital was revealed by Bild newspaper.

After a lengthy investigation, which involved working with Argentinian officials, interviewing numerous witnesses, and searching his Berlin apartment, an indictment was filed this month.

“The death of the accused abruptly ends the decades-long efforts of the relatives and investigative authorities in Argentina and Germany,” said Margarete Koppers, the Berlin attorney general.

Wolfgang Kaleck, the ECCHR’s general secretary, said it was regrettable that victims and their families were not able to see justice served, particularly as “there is a comprehensive and solid indictment from Berlin’s public prosecutor and most of Kyburg’s accomplices have been convicted by courts in Argentina”.

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