( CNN ) -- Former Argentine dictator Gen. Reynaldo Bignone was sentenced Thursday to 15 years in prison for crimes against humanity at a clandestine detention center during his rule . He was already serving a 25-year sentence from a previous trial . He ruled Argentina from June 1982 until the nation 's return to democracy in December 1983 . Argentina 's 2nd Oral Federal Court handed down the ruling . The punishment stems from an investigation into a clandestine detention facility hidden inside a hospital during the country 's military dictatorship . Under his command , at least 22 people were kidnapped and taken to the center , known as the `` Chalet at the Posadas Hospital , '' according to evidence in the case . Five of those were tortured during their detention , according to Argentina 's judicial information center . Bignone , was previously sentenced in April 2010 to 25 years in prison for kidnapping and torturing 56 people . Up to 30,000 students , labor leaders , intellectuals and leftists who ran afoul of the dictatorship because of their political views disappeared or were held in secret jails and torture centers during the nation 's eight-year `` dirty war . ''
Gen. Reynaldo Bignone ruled Argentina from 1982-1983 . He was sentenced to 15 years for torture in a secret jail . He had previously been sentenced to 25 years for other crimes .