SAO PAULO, Brazil -- A Brazilian court says the former head of Sao Paulo's secret police was responsible for torturing three people during the country's military dictatorship in the 1970s, apparently the first time a former high-ranking officer has been found guilty of crimes in the military regime.

A Sao Paulo state court said former Col. Carlos Alberto Brilhante Ustra tortured the three Brazilians when he headed the Sao Paulo secret police from 1970-74.

Local news media report that Thursday's verdict is the first of its kind in Brazil. The media say the verdict represents only a recognition of guilt, however. Ustra is protected by a sweeping 1979 amnesty that exempts both leftist guerrillas and the military from prosecution for any political crimes committed during the regime.

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