Former Argentine dictator General Jorge Videla has been sentenced to life imprisonment for crimes against humanity.

A court in the central city of Cordoba found Videla criminally responsible for the torture and killing of at least 31 political prisoners during his rule.

The Supreme Court judgment was met with cheers by activists and relatives of victims, many of whom brandished photographs of their murdered loved ones.

This is the second time he has been sentenced for human rights abuses, having been pardoned from his first sentence 20 years ago.

That amnesty was overturned in 2007 and there are dozens of cases pending against the 85-year-old and other military leaders.