The Supreme Court orders to reiterate the trial against the 4 former carabinieri

The Supreme Court overturned the trial that convicts former carabinieri Carlos Valencia Castro, Ángelo Muñoz Roque, Manuel Carvajal Fabres and Abraham Caro Pérez, and ordered a new trial in the case of José Vergara Espinoza, who disappeared in 2015 after to have been arrested at his home in Alto Hospicio.

At the first trial, the Iquique Criminal Court sentenced ex-men in uniform to between 41 and 300 days' imprisonment for the crime of unlawful detention and acquitted them for Charge of kidnapping presented by the prosecutor's office. Regional of Tarapacá.

"I am happy because I hope justice is done for my son," he said after hearing the decision of the young man's father, Juan Vergara, who added that his happiness was given "justice speaks today."

With this sanction, the case is reestablished, which must be reiterated in its entirety by the Oral Court in Iquique Criminal Law, though with other judges.

"Undoubtedly, the signal of the Supreme Court to accept the action for annulment brought by the family of José Vergara as plaintiffs in this case is unprecedented and sets a precedent.It is the first times in a democracy that the Supreme Court ruled on an enforced disappearance, canceling in this case a sentence that was an aberration, "said the lawyer representing the family, Matías Ramírez.

The Criminal Court of Iquique had established that this case did not constitute "a violation of human rights, that there was no enforced disappearance and that it was a crime. there was no precedent for this disappearance. A sentence that was a scandal and that determined the release of the four police officers charged, "according to the lawyer.

He added that "the cancellation of this lawsuit not only confirms that it is a violation of human rights and that the disappearance of José Vergara is the responsibility of the four accused carabinieri, but orders in this case to judge these antecedents ".

Another point emphasized by Ramírez is that they hope that "new judges who know this cause have an unrestricted view and respect for human rights".

Similarly, he concluded, "it is also essential that the sanctions be examined by the judges involved in this case who are unaware of international treaties ratified by Chile and which ultimately guarantee fundamental rights."