Italy’s justice minister has blocked the extradition to Argentina of a priest accused of crimes against humanity during the military dictatorship of the 1970s and 1980s, a source close to the case told Reuters.

Franco Reverberi’s 86-year-old father was charged with the alleged murder of 20-year-old political activist Jose Guillermo Beron in 1976 and his alleged involvement in torture by the junta led by Jorge Rafael Videla.

Reverbery, who holds Argentine and Italian citizenship, has always denied any wrongdoing.

Italy’s highest appeals court approved his extradition in October, but Justice Minister Carlo Nordio had the power to confirm or block the decision.

A source told Reuters they opposed extradition because of Reverbery’s advanced age and health.

The priest, a former military chaplain in junta-ruled Argentina, returned to his hometown near Parma in northern Italy in 2011 after trials of pro-junta figures began in Argentina.

During the 1976-1983 military dictatorship, up to 30,000 left-wing dissidents “disappeared” in Argentina’s so-called Dirty War, which rights groups say is a euphemism for kidnapping and murder.

In a parallel case, the trial of an Argentine army officer, Lt. Col. Carlos Luis Malatto, accused of intentionally killing eight people during the Videla regime, will begin in Rome on April 22.