A judge condemned as a camouflage former commander-in-chief, "for actions taken after executions"

At page 199 of yesterday's decision by the Minister during the visit of the Santiago Court of Appeal, Mario Carroza, concerning the 15 known homicides in the Artillera N 2 Regiment in Arica, La Serena On October 16, 1973, one reads: "An badistant does not intervene in the summaries, neither as prosecutor, nor as secretary."

The statement is an excerpt from one of the statements made by former commander-in-chief Juan Emilio Cheyre (2002 -2006) before the judge, who told him also badured that he "had no contact with the detainees of the regiment". And although he admitted to having heard gunshots, he denied having witnessed the execution.

Yesterday, Minister Carroza sentenced him to three years and one day in jail for concealing his crimes. I granted him, however, probation. With him, he sentenced another 10 soldiers to retirement. The heaviest punishment was inflicted – by its mediating author – on the regimental commander, Ariosto Lapostol Orrego, of whom Cheyre was then badistant.

"We end today with a cycle of human rights violations," referring to the fact that "episodes" in which the case of Caravana de la Muerte was separated only remains to fail "La Serena". He also said that with these sentences "we are talking about equal justice, that makes no difference, that does not have privileges".

The pbadage of the Caravan: communication link

The investigation of the judge establishes that after 11 In September 1973, the then commander-in-chief of the army, Augusto Pinochet , instructed Brigadier General Sergio Arellano to conduct a tour of the country in order to speed up the prosecution of political detainees and, where appropriate, to execute them. The two dead.

With this mission, Arellano arrives at La Serena in a Puma helicopter, accompanied by a group of soldiers. Upon his arrival, he met Lapostol and asked the military prosecutor Manuel Cazanga (deceased) to prosecute the prisoners. From this selection to those who must be executed. Then, an army contingent in charge of NCO Hctor Vallejos (deceased) and Sergeant Luis Araos went to court and killed 14 people. The fifteenth was in the regiment.

"Then," says the judge in the sentence "from the public prosecutor's office or from the public prison or the regiment's prisons, the 15 prisoners were transferred to the shooting range where, premeditated, alevosa and with ensaamiento proceeded to the execute ". And, he adds, "the prisoners are eliminated, the commander of the regiment launches the plan previously worked out, consisting of burying the bodies in the cemetery."

After that, Lapostol ordered the press to publish in the media a "military component", informing the execution of 15 extremists by order of military tribunals in time of war, which he himself, his badistant Cheyre, who brought the text to the press, and the unit officers knew that it was fake.

From accomplice to corrector

Cheyre was in the regiment during the pbadage of the caravan, heard the shots and delivered the "camp". This was recognized by the judge and recognized by the convict.

Originally, General (r) was accused of complicity in these crimes in April 2017; Yesterday, the quality was changed to cover. The reasons are in the same decision.

"How does the deputy commander of the regiment continue with absolute coldness and indifference to his usual routine, knowing that 15 people were shot in the polgon?" Reflects the magistrate in his sentence. "There is no certainty," he continued, "that he participated in previous or simultaneous acts of execution, there is a reasonable doubt in this regard." (…) but he does not tolerate his culpable behavior and is punishable by the law in fact, criminal, although not as an accomplice, but as a corrector. "

This concludes Carroza, "for all the procedures already described which culminated after the executions, because having known of them and not having participated in them, neither as author nor as accomplice, n & nbsp; Also intervenes later, facilitating for the evildoers the means to conceal the effects of the crime and to provide them shelter for the news. "

A few hours after the hearing, the lawyer Jorge Bofill , representing Cheyre, said that "we are not satisfied with the decision, Juan Emilio Cheyre is innocent and any other decision we are unfair ". "He had no troops or command (…) During his 25 years, he did not know, did not act and did not approve the facts," and noted that in this process, "he was denied the right to former President Ricardo Lagos to declare as a witness of this appointment (knowingly)." In addition, he also did appeal of the decision to the Santiago Court of Appeal.

Judge Carroza's decision also accepted the requests of the next of kin of the victims. The state must pay $ 80 million to each spouse. with $ 70 million for their children and $ 40 million for their brothers.

In the military, they regretted the procedural situation of their commander-in-chief, but declared that it was not incumbent upon him to rule on resolutions. judicial