Buenos Aires, Argentina ? A former police officer was sentenced Friday to 25 years in prison for human rights abuses in connection with the 1978 disappearance of a married couple during Argentina’s military dictatorship.

It was the first conviction since 1980s amnesty laws protecting former military and police officials accused of dictatorship-era atrocities were overturned last year by the Supreme Court.

A federal tribunal in Buenos Aires convicted former officer Julio Simon of the torture and “illegal privation” of liberty of Chilean Jose Poblete and his Argentine wife, Gertrudis Hlaczik, as well as having taken away their daughter, who at the time was 8 months old, a court statement said.

Human rights groups hailed the ruling as a victory, saying it marked a step toward obtaining justice after the dictatorship.

Argentina’s military rulers seized power on March 24, 1976, beginning seven years of rule in which prosecutors say they waged a systematic crackdown on dissidents known as the “Dirty War.” An official report said some 13,000 people disappeared during that period.