On November 20, 1975, Alejandro Juan AVALOS DAVIDSON, a professor at the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile and a member of the PC, was detained while traveling between his workplace and his mother's house.

He had been intensely sought by individuals who identified themselves to university authorities as DINA agents, further stating that they had orders to arrest Professor Avalos "without witnesses." The victim was taken to Villa Grimaldi, the place from which all trace of him was lost in February 1976.

The Commission is convinced that his disappearance was the work of State agents, who thereby violated his human rights.

Alejandro Juan Avalos Davidson, single, university professor, and member of the Communist Party, was detained by the DINA on November 20, 1975, between 5:00 PM and 6:00 PM, while traveling between his workplace—the Interdisciplinary Program for Educational Research (P.I.I.E.) of the Catholic University, located at Calle Bustos 2431—and his mother's home, located at Pedro de Valdivia 1673, where he had agreed to arrive after finishing his workday.

Following his arrest, the precise details of which remain unknown, he was taken to the DINA facility located at Lo Arrieta 8200, known as Villa Grimaldi. He remained the entire time in a section of that facility known as "The Tower," where detainees destined to "disappear" were typically held. He was last seen there at the end of February 1976.

There is clear evidence that Alejandro Avalos had been sought by the DINA since the first days of November 1975. In the judicial proceedings investigating his disappearance, there is a sworn statement from Carlos Ramón Bombal Otaegui, who states that, in his capacity as Chief of Staff to the Rector of the Catholic University of Chile—and therefore a trusted official—he had to attend to two individuals on Monday, November 3, 1975, who presented themselves to the Rector, Mr.

Jorge Swett Madge, and identified themselves as DINA officials. They spoke directly with Jorge Swett, and minutes later, he was called by the Rector, who gave him instructions to assist these individuals and provide them with all the information they requested.

At that same moment, he was informed by the Rector that they required information about a professor named Alejandro Juan Avalos Davidson. As the Rector had instructed, he prepared to call the Director of the Academic Unit where Mr.

Avalos worked. The two officials suggested that he not cause alarm in that Academic Unit and that he avoid making the call, "since their order was to detain Mr. Avalos without witnesses." He acted as requested, as he deemed it best not to hinder the functions of that security agency, and proceeded to provide the required background information.

Mr. Bombal adds in his statement that, subsequent to these events, he informed the Rector of the fate that awaited Mr. Avalos, explaining that they had not only come seeking information about him but had also stated they had orders to detain him without witnesses.

Approximately 5 days later, the University learned of Mr. Avalos's disappearance, and when he was consulted by the Academic Vice Rector if he had any information regarding the matter "(since I normally attend to the DINA officials who require information)," he informed the Academic Vice Rector of what he knew.

Finally, the witness indicates that, as is clear from the intention expressed by the two officials to detain Mr. Avalos, he was able to conclude that Mr. Avalos was being held by the DINA. In the same proceedings, Mr.

Jorge Swett Madge, Rector of the Catholic University, testified that on November 3, 1975, two individuals arrived at his office at the University who identified themselves as DINA officials, showing their credentials, and wanted to know details about a University professor named Alejandro Juan Avalos Davidson.

They wanted to know if he belonged to the University, where he worked, and in short, how to locate him. Due to the time elapsed, he says he does not remember the purpose they were pursuing in inquiring about these details regarding Professor Avalos.

He adds that he subsequently called his secretary, Carlos Bombal, and gave him instructions to take them to the personnel office, where all the data on Professor Avalos would be provided. In other words, the Rector affirms, his role was essentially limited to authorizing these men access to the information the University might have "about any person they need." Don Francisco Julio Bulnes Ripamonti, Secretary General of the Catholic University of Chile, states in his judicial declaration that he did not witness the detention of the affected party, but some time earlier, the Chief of Staff to the Rector, Mr. Carlos Bombal, told him that a DINA official had informed him that Mr. Avalos had been detained by that agency, which was later denied by that Intelligence Directorate.

Alejandro Juan Avalos Davidson's presence at Villa Grimaldi is accounted for by the testimonies of several people who survived the DINA and their imprisonment at that facility. Don Dagoberto Mario Trincado Olivera, a civil engineer, states in his testimony that he was detained on November 4, 1975, by DINA agents at Pudahuel Airport as he was preparing to board a plane that would take him to Buenos Aires.

The following day, he was transferred to Villa Grimaldi, where he remained until the 30th of that month. There, he was interrogated and tortured three times a day, suffering the effects of the "grill," which consisted of applying electric current to his entire body while he was tied to a metal bunk bed; as a result, he suffered three cardiac arrests and had to be taken to the DINA Clinic located on Calle Santa Lucía.

At the end of November, he saw Alejandro Avalos Davidson for the first time at Villa Grimaldi, and he continued to see him during the month of December. They held him in a sector called "The Tower." In mid-December, Alejandro told him that he thought they were going to release him soon, since by that time they were no longer torturing or interrogating him.

Don José Miguel Moya Faurich, an economist, states that he was detained by the DINA on October 20, 1975, while he was at the home of the Catholic University of Santiago professor, Jaime Ignacio Ossa Galdames, whom the DINA agents were looking for and who was arrested that same day upon arriving home. (It should be noted that Professor Ossa Galdames died in Villa Grimaldi as a result of the torture to which he was subjected).

The witness was taken blindfolded to Villa Grimaldi, where he was stripped and tortured, as a result of which he lost sensitivity in one of his legs for a few days. In the third week of November, he was transferred to the sector called "The Tower." In those days, a detainee named Alejandro Avalos Davidson arrived at that place, whom he did not know; he told him that he did not know the reason for his detention, noted that he was a communist but was not participating actively, and that one of his brothers was an official at the Canadian Embassy; he looked to be in good condition, so he assumed he had been detained recently. One day, four agents arrived at "The Tower" and proceeded to interrogate him; from what he could hear and the nature of the questions they asked him, he realized they had nothing against him. Alejandro helped him move to the bathroom every day, as he could not do so alone due to the injury to his leg.

Don Carlos Corvalán Rojas, a psychologist, states in a judicial testimony that on December 2, 1975, while he was heading with his son to his son's school, he was detained by Military Intelligence personnel two blocks from his home located at Avenida Matta and Lira; they put him in a van inside which Alejandro Avalos was sitting—whom he knew from before—they looked at each other but did not greet each other or speak a word during the entire trip; they put tape over his eyes and forbade him from speaking; later he was taken down and put into a room where he heard the voice of Alejandro Avalos.

The next day he was transferred to 4 Alamos and subsequently to 3 Alamos. When the President of the Supreme Court was at that last facility, he spoke with the Secretary of the Court and asked him about Alejandro Avalos, as he had not seen him again.

The Secretary took note of what he told him regarding the case. At the time of giving his statement before the Court, the witness was being held at 3 Alamos.

Don Cristián Esteban van Yurick Altamirano, also a survivor of systematic torture, indicates in his testimony that he was detained on July 12, 1974, remaining held in the facilities of Londres 38, Villa Grimaldi, 4 Alamos, and José Domingo Cañas.

On the eve of Easter 1975, while at Villa Grimaldi, he was taken into a room where there were other detainees; there he saw Juan Avalos Davidson, whom he only met there; Santiago Ferrús López, whom they tortured with gas; and another prisoner whose name he does not remember and who was handcuffed next to Davidson and who barely spoke, on top of the bunk bed; all three came from "The Tower."

Don Oscar Patricio Orellana Figueroa states in his testimony that he was detained on November 28, 1975, after which he was transferred to Villa Grimaldi, and within that facility, he was held in the place called "The Tower," where he suffered the application of electric current, hanging, and beatings on different parts of his body.

When he arrived at "The Tower," there were two other prisoners in that place, one of whom was Alejandro Avalos Davidson, who told him he was a professor at the Catholic University, belonged to the Communist Youth, and that he did not know the reason for his detention.

On one occasion, a DINA agent whom they called "El Brujo" tried to hypnotize Alejandro Avalos, who pretended to be hypnotized. Subsequently, Santiago Ferrús, Mario Quezada, and José Ramón Ascencio arrived at "The Tower." On January 20, 1976, he was taken out of "The Tower" and led to 4 Alamos, where he remained incommunicado in a cell alone.

In mid-February, he was again taken to Villa Grimaldi along with several other detainees, in order to avoid them being recognized during a visit by the Red Cross to 4 Alamos. Arriving at Villa Grimaldi, he was separated from the group of detainees and taken immediately to "The Tower." In that place, Alejandro Avalos, Santiago Ferrús, and José Ramón Ascencio still remained.

At that time, work was being carried out in that place; they were making small individual cells. The three detainees looked well. That was the last time he saw Alejandro Avalos, as, after two days, he was returned to 4 Alamos.

Don Renán Gregorio Castillo Urtubia notes in his statement that he was detained on November 27, 1975, and released on November 17, 1976, from the 3 Alamos Camp. During the first stage of his apprehension, he was held at Villa Grimaldi, where he was for the last time on January 13, 1976.

On the three occasions that he was taken to that facility, he spoke with Alejandro Avalos Davidson, who was in "The Tower." In the period between December 26, 1975, and January 13, 1976, they ordered him to bring food to the prisoners who were in "The Tower," among them, Alejandro Avalos and Patricio Orellana.

For her part, Doña Gabriela del Carmen Salazar Rodríguez states in her testimony that she was detained by the DINA on December 31, 1975, being transferred to Villa Grimaldi, where she remained until February 26, 1976, to then be taken to 4 Alamos.

In the first facility, she saw Alejandro Avalos when he was taken to the bathroom and who was in the place called "The Tower." The last time she saw him was in mid-February 1976, assuming he was taken to another place since she no longer saw him on the periodic trips to the bathroom.

Don Carlos Raúl González Anjari states in a sworn statement that he was detained on December 26, 1975, being transferred to Villa Grimaldi. At the end of that month, he had the occasion to cross paths with a group of detainees who were being taken to the bathroom; among them was Alejandro Avalos.

He saw this group of prisoners for the last time on January 29, 1976, the date on which he was transferred from 4 Alamos to Villa Grimaldi in order to hide him from the visit made by the Red Cross; that group of detainees was being made to perform forced labor.

Don Sergio Carlos Requena Rueda, a civil engineer, recounts in his testimony that he was detained by the DINA on December 12, 1975, being transferred to Villa Grimaldi. There he had the occasion to speak with Alejandro Avalos Davidson, whom he knew from before.

Alejandro was being held in the sector called "The Tower," which was isolated from the rest of the dependencies of that facility. He saw him for the last time on January 19, 1976, the date on which the witness was transferred to 4 Alamos.

On that occasion, he was able to exchange a few words with Alejandro Avalos, who looked emaciated; he told him that his family already knew of his detention and where he was (the witness had been taken to 3 Alamos previously, an opportunity he took to notify the Avalos Davidson family about his situation) and told him that they had sent him greetings.

For his part, Avalos told him to give his greetings to his family if he saw them again and that he hoped to be transferred very soon to a detention center where he could be visited.

His family carried out multiple efforts and inquiries in order to find his whereabouts, requesting information through letters to almost all administrative and military authorities. All were fruitless.

On March 21, 1990, coincidentally while excavation work was being carried out at the Fundo Las Tórtolas in Colina—lands that belonged to the Chilean Army until 1980—remains of three people were found in two clandestine graves; two of them were identified three months later and revealed to be Vicente Atencio Cortés, a former communist parliamentarian, detained on August 11, 1976, and Eduardo Canteros Prado, also a communist militant, detained on July 23, 1976.

After two years, in September 1992, after countless expert reports and laboratory tests, it was established that the third victim was Alejandro Juan Avalos Davidson. The three victims remained for years as forcibly disappeared, and they are united by having been held in the secret DINA facility, Villa Grimaldi.

Judicial and/or Administrative Actions

On December 6, 1975, a writ of amparo was filed on his behalf before the Santiago Court of Appeals, case file 1642-75, in which reports were requested from the Minister of the Interior and the National Intelligence Directorate.

Both official letters were answered by the Ministry of the Interior, stating that the person under amparo had not been detained by the DINA. The petitioner brought to the Court's attention the information obtained from the Catholic University authorities, to the effect that the affected party was being detained by the DINA, requesting that the Catholic University authorities be summoned or called by telephone and that a magistrate of the Court constitute himself at the DINA Central Headquarters in order to verify the detention of the affected party.

These measures were denied by the Court. On January 3, 1976, based on the information provided by the administrative authority, the writ of amparo was rejected, and the background information was sent to the Eighth Criminal Court of Santiago in order to initiate proceedings for the disappearance of the person under amparo.

On January 12, 1976, the Eighth Criminal Court of Santiago initiated case 13.090, before which, on January 27, 1976, Doña Elsie Davidson Wieght, the mother of the affected party, appeared and ratified the terms of her complaint.

In the investigation order carried out by the Investigative Police and reported on February 26, the complainant was interviewed, who added to her statements that, through people she cannot identify for obvious reasons, she has had knowledge that her son was being held at Villa Grimaldi or 4 Alamos.

The Investigative report adds that the victim is not registered in the SENDET. On July 8, 1976, Don Francisco Julio Bulnes Ripamonti appeared before the Court, whose statements have already been presented.

On August 18, 1976, the 8th Criminal Court declared itself incompetent to continue hearing the facts, sending the case files to the Second Criminal Court of Santiago for their accumulation to case 84.315, which was hearing the same facts and which had been initiated on December 2, 1975, following a report of alleged misfortune of Alejandro Avalos Davidson.

On August 25, the 2nd Court accepted its competence and proceeded to the accumulation of the case.

In case 84.315, at the date of the accumulation, negative reports had been received from the SENDET, the Ministry of the Interior, and the Legal Medical Service. Likewise, the investigation order carried out by the Investigative Police had been reported, in which Don Francisco Bulnes Ripamonti and Don Carlos Bombal were interviewed.

Both people, plus the Rector of the Catholic University, Don Jorge Swett Madge, appeared before the Court, explaining the facts that have already been recounted. On May 17, 1976, the witness Carlos Corvalán Rojas was taken from 3 Alamos to the Court in order to give a statement regarding the circumstances in which he saw Alejandro Avalos.

After the accumulation of both cases, the 2nd Criminal Court took a statement from the prisoner at 3 Alamos, Don Sergio Carlos Requena Rueda, who expressed the details of his stay at Villa Grimaldi, where he saw the victim.

On February 2, 1977, the complainant party filed a criminal complaint before that same Court for the crime of kidnapping, accompanying as background information a sworn statement provided by Don Juan Ernesto Segura Aguilar, who claims to have been detained by the DINA and to have been at Villa Grimaldi together with Alejandro Avalos.

The complaint was accepted for processing, accumulating to the case. Subsequently, the plaintiffs accompanied the sworn statements of former DINA prisoners, Don Carlos Raúl González Anjari and Don Dagoberto Mario Trincado Olivera, whose testimonies have already been recounted.

On August 16, 1977, the Court, at the request of the complainant party, ordered an official letter to the Military Court so that it would constitute itself at Villa Grimaldi and verify if Alejandro Avalos Davidson was detained there.

The Court also ordered to exhort the different jurisdictional territories of the country in order to locate the whereabouts of the affected party, receiving negative responses from all of them. On November 7, 1977, the plaintiff party requested an account of the measure regarding the constitution of the First Military Court at Villa Grimaldi.

On April 29, 1978, the Judge reiterated the official letter to the First Military Court, receiving a response that in the city of Antofagasta there is no place called Villa Grimaldi. It should be noted that the First Military Court corresponds to Antofagasta; meanwhile, Villa Grimaldi is located in Santiago, whose jurisdiction corresponds to the Second Military Court.

On May 12, 1978, the Judge, bearing in mind the recent enactment of Decree Law 2.191, which grants amnesty to persons who have committed criminal acts during the period between September 11, 1973, and March 10, 1978, definitively dismissed the case.

Said resolution was appealed by the injured party. On July 12, 1978, the Santiago Court of Appeals revoked the appealed dismissal order, ordering the case to be restored to the summary stage.

On October 5, 1978, the Ministry of the Interior, accompanying a report from the CNI—which by that date had succeeded the DINA—stated that the place called Villa Grimaldi, located at Avda. Lo Arrieta 8400, is under the charge of that National Information Center, C.N.I., which is a military organization, and for that reason, all its dependencies are subject to said jurisdiction.

The CNI received the aforementioned place from the DINA, which at the date of delivery was unoccupied and without personnel in charge, thus the identity of those who occupied said property is unknown.

On October 30, 1978, the case was temporarily dismissed on the grounds that the perpetration of the crime that gave rise to the formation of the summary is not justified in the case files. On May 2, 1979, the Court of Appeals considered that the knowledge of the summary corresponded to the Visiting Minister Servando Jordán López, who was investigating the cases of forcibly disappeared persons in the Department of Santiago, sending him the case.

However, the Visiting Minister, on May 4, rejected his competence and returned the case files to the Court of Appeals, considering that said Court should rule on the dismissal dictated in the case files.

Upon the Court of Appeals insisting on its previous resolution, the background information was elevated to the Supreme Court in order to settle the conflict of competence. On May 30, the Supreme Court ruled that the Court of Appeals should rule on the temporary dismissal decreed.

On July 27, 1979, the Court of Appeals revoked the dismissal order, restoring the case to the summary stage, so that the Judge would declare his incompetence and send the background information to the Second Military Court, as its knowledge corresponds to it.

On August 10, the Judge of the 2nd Criminal Court complied with what was ordered by his Superior Court and sent the case files to the Military Justice.

On September 20, 1979, the Military Court accepted its competence and ordered the First Military Prosecutor's Office of Santiago to instruct case 692-79. On April 9, 1980, Don Carlos Raúl González Anjari appeared before the Prosecutor's Office, who stated that he had been detained by the DINA and had remained at Villa Grimaldi together with Alejandro Avalos.

On the other hand, negative reports were received from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and a report was received from the Investigative Police with all the data collected on the victim, which does not provide new background information.

On January 8, 1981, the Military Prosecutor closed the summary, and on February 2, the Military Judge totally and temporarily dismissed the case, considering the investigation exhausted and the disappearance of Alejandro Avalos Davidson not completely justified in the case files.

The resolution was appealed by the plaintiff party, making available to the Martial Court the testimony of Doña Alicia Salinas Farfán, who states that she was detained by the DINA on January 3, 1975, and had remained at Villa Grimaldi, making a detailed account of that facility and the agents who operated there.

On September 15, 1981, the dismissal order was approved by the Martial Court, thus rejecting the appeal.

The offended party filed a complaint before the Supreme Court against the Martial Court that confirmed the dismissal order. The Supreme Court, on December 29 of that year, accepted the complaint only to the extent of leaving the dismissal resolution without effect, considering that there are pending measures that are necessary to exhaust the investigation.

In this new stage of the process, several DINA agents, the organization responsible for the detention, maintenance in the Villa Grimaldi facilities, and the subsequent disappearance of Avalos, are called to testify.

On March 8, 1982, Army Major Miguel Krassnoff Martchenko appeared before the Prosecutor's Office, who states that he belonged to the DINA between January 1974 and the end of 1975; he affirms that he was not at Villa Grimaldi nor did he hold any position, he does not know Colonel Marcelo Moren Brito or Commander Rodolfo Wenderoth Pozo, and has no idea who Alejandro Juan Avalos Davidson is.

On March 22 of that same year, Army Lieutenant Colonel Rolf Gonzalo Wenderoth Pozo appeared by exhortation, who states that he has never been the Chief of Villa Grimaldi, that in 1975 he was in charge of the Intelligence Document Analysis Section and as such only processed them and issued reports, and that he does not know Alejandro Avalos Davidson.

On April 29, 1982, Army Colonel Marcelo Moren Brito appeared by exhortation, who states that it is not true that he was the chief of Villa Grimaldi. In that facility, there were several parallel security units, without command leadership for the facility.

He does not know the person the Court names. Finally, on May 20, 1982, the Director of the DINA responded by official letter to the Court's questions, stating that Villa Grimaldi was used as a place for filing and interrogating detainees in transit, noting that with every detainee taken to that facility, all legal provisions had been complied with; that the detainees did not remain at Villa Grimaldi but were taken to 4 Alamos.

The Brigadier General affirms that a witness to the aforementioned is the former President of the Supreme Court of Justice, Don José María Eyzaguirre, who made a detailed visit to "Villa Grimaldi," precisely when two detainees brought from the Cuatro Alamos detention camp were being interrogated.

He points out that the President of the Supreme Court also received detailed explanations about the Villa Grimaldi procedure. Finally, he says that due to the time elapsed, it is impossible for him to remember what personnel were in charge of that facility, and he states he does not know the name of Alejandro Juan Avalos Davidson nor does he have any background information that he was taken to Villa Grimaldi.

On July 7, 1982, the Military Judge again totally and temporarily dismissed the case, considering that although the investigation was exhausted, the perpetration of the reported facts is not completely accredited in the case files.

On June 8, 1983, the Martial Court revoked the dismissal order and instructed the Prosecutor to interrogate Marcelo Moren Brito, Lieutenant Colonel Rolf Wenderoth, and Manuel Contreras Sepúlveda again, who must explain in detail the organization that existed at Villa Grimaldi in November and December 1975 and January 1976, indicating who were the chiefs of the various parallel security units and the chief of the facility, as well as the names of the Officers who served there in charge of filing and interrogating detainees in transit.

On July 8, 1983, Brigadier General Manuel Contreras Sepúlveda again responded by official letter to the Military Prosecutor's Office, in which he confirmed his previous statements, without adding new relevant background information for the clarification of the investigated facts.

Likewise, the new statement provided by Colonel Marcelo Moren Brito also did not provide new background information and confirmed his previous statements. Meanwhile, Colonel Rolf Wenderoth Pozo states that the Brigade was in charge of a Commander and the Analysis Unit that was under his charge depended directly on him.

From the Brigade Commander also depended different Operational Units, as well as a Service Unit for the attention of internal needs depended on him. The Brigade Commander was Don Marcelo, the name by which he was known within the Unit.

Regarding the Service and Operational Units, he does not remember the names. He points out that because it was an Intelligence Service, they were only known by their first name as a nickname.

On October 27, 1983, the Military Judge of Santiago totally and temporarily dismissed the case because the reported facts were not accredited. This time, the Martial Court approved the dismissal order, thus rejecting the appeal filed by the injured party.

Regarding administrative efforts, it should be noted that the family of the affected party requested information from the different Ministers of State, receiving responses to the effect that there were no records of the victim.

In March 1990, following the discovery of three corpses in a facility that belonged to the Army until 1980, a complaint for illegal inhumation was initiated in the 19th Criminal Court of Santiago, Case File 35625-6, which, as of December 1992, continues in process. In the course of this complaint, Juan Alejandro Avalos Davidson was identified as one of the victims.

In the report on the discovery, it was specified that the three bodies had been found in the sector called Las Tórtolas in the town of Colina. Indeed, on March 21, when workers were carrying out land removal work for a contractor company of the Compañía Minera Disputada de Las Condes—at that date the owner of the land—the discovery was made; next to the skeletal remains, clothing and other cultural items were found.

There were two graves, one with two bodies with remains of clothing and the other with a naked body.

Three months after the discovery, two of the bodies were identified; one belonged to Eduardo Canteros Prado, detained on July 23, 1976, and Vicente Atencio Cortés, detained on August 11, 1976. Both were militants of the Communist Party and had been seen detained at Villa Grimaldi.

The facility where the remains of Alejandro Avalos Davidson were found belonged to the Army until 1980. The date of death is more than 10 years old.

Source: Vicariate of Solidarity