Argentina Demands Appearance of Young Facundo Castro

Argentina's non-governmental organization (NGO) Grandmothers of Plaza de Mayo Tuesday demanded the apparition of young Facundo Castro, who has been missing since Buenos Aires police officers arrested him three months ago.

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"We stand in solidarity with Facundo Castro's family... We demand that the young man's safe and sound apparition," the organization tweeted.

Castro, 22, disappeared on April 30 in Buenos Aires after being arrested by police officers while he was trying to get from Pedro Luro municipality to Bahia Blanca.

"The government will not cover up for anyone. If the responsibility of the State is proven, we will be severe," Argentina's President Alberto Fernandez assured.

The Grandmothers of Plaza de Mayo demanded that prosecutor Santiago Ulpiano be removed from the case after he was accused by the Castro family of covering up for the alleged perpetrators.

"The authorities' commitment is indispensable to find the young man alive. Those responsible for his forced disappearance cannot go unpunished," the organization added in a statement.

The Castro family's lawyers have detailed police irregularities that suggest an attempt to cover up Facundo's disappearance since April 30. 

That day, a close friend received a message from Castro's phone with written words that he rarely says.

"Castro never used SMS to communicate with his friends. Besides, in the message, he called him 'friend', instead of 'Chanchi', as he used to call him," lawyer Leandro Aparicio explained.

He also said that "his 'phone' was running out of battery when he usually referred to the device as 'tube,'" Aparicio added.

In the first days of June, his friends went to report his disappearance to the police. The officers first refused to take the statements, then they wrote the report on a food wrap paper.