Additional prison sentence for former DINA agent Miguel Krassnoff Martchenko

Miguel Krassnoff Martchenko

The Santiago Court of Appeals has sentenced former DINA agent Miguel Krassnoff Martchenko to 541 days in prison for the torture of MIR militant Guacolda Rojas Pizarro during her detention at Villa Grimaldi.

Krassnoff, who is already serving a 144 year prison sentence for his role in torture and disappearance of leftist militants and sympathisers, has been condemned by Judge Mario Carroza for subjecting Rojas to beatings, various forms of sexual torture and applying electric current to sensitive parts of the detainee's body. Rojas was later transferred to Tres Alamos and Cuatro Alamos, finally being released from her ordeal.

In a previous conviction for torture and disappearance of Maria Cecilia Labrin Saso, Krassnoff sought to reinvent his image of notorious torturer who never bothered to shield his identity from detainees, into that of a researcher employed to study the dynamics of 'terrorist groups like MIR'.

Human rights supporters and groups concerned with furthering the struggle for memory in Chile do not deem the judicial ruling as particularly effective, considering the luxurious incarceration epitomised by the Penal Cordillera - a military building bequeathed to Augusto Pinochet's convicted agents. Apart from the privileged surroundings, including the use of lavish recreations areas, the torturers have also been entitled to benefits and pensions depending upon their rank during the dictatorship.

Chile's right wing, however, still hails Krassnoff as 'innocent' and patriotic. Gabriela Silva Encina's book 'Miguel Krassnoff: Preso por Servir a Chile' (Miguel Krassnoff: Incarcerated for serving Chile) remains touted as a knowledgeable treatise amongst neoliberal circles, despite the fact that the historian denies any human rights violation during Pinochet's dictatorship.

The disappearance of priest Miguel Woodward Iriberry - torturers escape justice

Miguel Woodward Iriberry, priest and MAPU activist

Justice has once again favoured human rights violators. The Court of Appeals in Valparaiso, investigating the disappearance of British Chilean priest and MAPU activist Miguel Woodward Iriberry, has determined that the agents involved will not serve any prison sentence.

José Manuel García Reyes and Héctor Fernando Palomino López were sentenced to three years and one day in prison but granted the benefit of probation.

Manuel Atilio Leiva Valdivieso was acquitted on grounds of dementia. The remaining agents, Carlos Alberto Miño Muñoz, Marcos Cristián Silva Bravo, Guillermo Carlos Inostroza Opazo, Luis Fernando Pinda Figueroa and Bertalino Segundo Castillo Soto were absolved due to lack of evidence of participation.

The torture and detention ship, Esmeralda

Woodward was arrested at his home in Cerro Placeres, Poblacion Heroes del Mar, in the aftermath of the military coup, according to the Rettig Report on September 16, 1973 by Navy officials. He was transferred to the University Federico Santa Maria where he was brutally tortured by simulated drowning in the pool until suffocation. Following the almost fatal torture, Woodward was transferred to the Esmeralda - a naval ship which served as a detention and torture centre. According to testimony from the second in command of the Esmeralda, Eduardo Barison, Woodward died on the ship from the excessive torture inflicted upon him. The official death certificate indicates cardiac arrest as the cause of death, while the prosecution argues that Woodward died as a result of internal bleeding from torture.

Attempts to recover Woodward's body for a proper burial were futile in the wake of systematic disappearances. Following testimony about a mass grave given by the former director of the cemetery at Playa Ancha, an excavation order was given in 2006 to exhume the Woodward's remains. However, the excavation was called six days later as no remains were unearthed. According to the cemetery's records the last burials took place in 1979; however an excavation, presumably to remove the remains of the desaparecidos took place before 1989 and the downfall of the military dictatorship.

Relatives and friends of Woodward have stated that they will appeal the ruling by Jolio Miranda Lillo, declaring the ruling unsatisfactory after eleven years of judicial struggle in pursuit of memory and justice. Throughout the years, 33 people have been accused of the torture and disappearance of of Woodward - only eight made it to the courts, with impunity proving to be a formidable opponent against justice. The family is also considering a petition for the dismissal of Miranda's role in deciding human rights violations cases.



 

Four DINA agents sentenced for the disappearance of María Cecilia Labrín Saso

On April 30, 2013 Judge Leopoldo Lanos sentenced former DINA agents Manuel Contreras Sepulveda, Miguel Krassnoff Martchenko, Marcelo Moren Brito and Basclay Zapata Reyes to ten years imprisonment for the detention and disappearace of MIR militant María Cecilia Labrín Saso.

Labrín, aged 25, was detained on August 12, 1974 in the presence of her family by DINA agents, while resting due to a difficult pregnancy. The supposedly brief interrogation evolved into disappearance as the family sought information about Labrin's whereabouts in vain. Testimony by former MIR militant and torture survivor Erika Hennings place Labrin at Londres 38 and tortured by Contreras, Krassnoff, Brito and Reyes. Other detainees, such as Oscar Armando Alfaro Cordova (detained in July 1974) and Raul Alberto Iturra Munoz (detained in January1974) testify to her presence in Londres 38 and Cuatro Alamos respectively. According to evidence provided in court, it is documented that Labrin was transferred and held in Cuatro Alamos on August 17, 1974, accused of participation in MIR related activities.

Labrin's presence at Londres 38 was also witnessed by former MIR militant turned DINA collaborator Luz Arce Sandoval. Arce's testimony before the Rettig Commission provided a wealth of information about the intricacies of DINA and 'justification' for the betrayal of MIR militants and comrades, which she insists only damaged the 'peripheral' structure of the leftist organisation(Lazzara, 2011).

Questioned about DINA's operations in Londres 38, Contreras stated that he 'knew of its existence' but was not knowledgeable about the objectives. despite the lack of collaboration in behalf of Contreras, the court was able to provide evidence of collaboration in the detention, torture and disappearance of Labrin through testimony by other DINA agents including co-accused Reyes, as well as information and evidence garnered from the Truth and Reconciliation Report, which identified Contreras as in command of all operations pertaining to structure, organisation and detention centres.

Krassnoff sought to reinvent his role as torturer into that of an analyst undertaking intelligence studies with regard to 'terrorist groups like MIR' - a statement contradicted by numerous witnesses, including Erika Hennings as well as co-accused Reyes who gave evidence about the structure of Brigada Halcon and Krassnoff's role in persecuting MIR militants.

Denials by the accused reeked of the impunity and secrecy which DINA availed itself of. To this day, there is no information as to how the disappearance of Labrin was carried out.