Artemio Segundo Gutiérrez Avila, a jeweler and MIR militant, was detained by 4 DINA agents on July 13, 1974, at approximately 10:30 a.m., along with his friend Francisco Eduardo Fuentealba Fuentealba, also a MIR militant.

The arrest took place at the "Platinal" jewelry store located at Calle Santo Domingo No. 573, Apt. 33, where he was working. The procedure was witnessed by Mr. Enrique Alejandro Trevich, the owner of the establishment, and his secretary. After being arrested, the two young men were taken to Londres 38, where they were seen by other detainees who survived their imprisonment at that facility.

Mr. Cristián Esteban Van Jurick Altamirano states in his testimony that he was detained on July 12, 1974, and taken to the same facility. Among the apprehending agents, he was able to identify Osvaldo Romo Mena and Miguel Krassnoff Martchenko.

At Londres 38, he noticed the presence of Artemio Gutiérrez Avila and Francisco Fuentealba, and was confronted with the latter. He adds in his testimony that both Artemio Gutiérrez and Francisco Fuentealba were detained directly in connection with him, based on information their captors extracted from his home; they worked in a workshop (jewelry store).

Ms. Erika Cecilia Hennings Cepeda, a former detainee of Londres 38, states in a sworn declaration that she was detained on July 31, 1974, and that she encountered several detainees at the aforementioned facility, among them Artemio Gutiérrez Avila.

His family carried out various efforts and inquiries to locate him, but these yielded no results. Aside from distressing situations such as inquiries made at the Secretaría Nacional de Detenidos (SENDET), where in August they were informed that their son was registered as a detainee, only to be told later that his name no longer appeared in the records.

A week later, they were told he was being held at 3 Alamos, but again his name was erased from the detainee records. Subsequently, on January 11, 1975, his name appeared on a list of 200 detainees whom the military government intended to expel from the country to Mexico.

His name even appears in the confidential Decree No. 528 of the Ministry of the Interior dated April 16, 1975, in which he is notified that he must leave the national territory for constituting a danger to the internal security of the State, based on information held by said Ministry.

In addition to these contradictions, there are those recorded in the recurso de amparo (writ of habeas corpus) filed on his behalf and that of Francisco Leiva Campos (the name by which Artemio Gutiérrez's mother knew Francisco Fuentealba), in which the Ministry of the Interior acknowledged his detention and identified the Cuatro Alamos Camp as his place of confinement.

However, despite the official acknowledgment of his apprehension, his family never saw him again and still do not know the fate he met at the hands of the DINA.

JUDICIAL AND/OR ADMINISTRATIVE ACTIONS

On September 17, 1974, Ms. Georgina Avila Gutiérrez, the mother of the affected party, filed a recurso de amparo before the Santiago Court of Appeals on behalf of her son and Francisco Leiva Campos, the latter being the name by which she knew Francisco Fuentealba Fuentealba, who was also living in her home.

In the recurso de amparo, registered under case number 1110-74, the Ministry of the Interior acknowledged on December 13 that it was holding the detainee by virtue of Exempt Decree No. 248 in a place that is not a prison facility nor intended for common criminals.

This information was ratified by that Ministry on January 17, 1975, at which time it also indicated that Francisco Leiva Campos was in the same situation. Based on this evidence, on January 27, 1975, the Court rejected the recurso de amparo, a resolution that was appealed by the petitioner on the grounds that although the Ministry of the Interior acknowledged the detention of the individuals, they could not be visited because the place where they were being held was unknown; the appeal also noted that Artemio Segundo Gutiérrez Avila had appeared on a list of prisoners that the Chilean government had proposed to the Mexican government for transfer to that country. The Supreme Court resolved to issue an official request to the Ministry of the Interior to provide information regarding the place of confinement of the affected parties. On February 27, 1975, that Secretariat of State again ratified that Artemio Gutiérrez was being held by order of that Ministry, identifying the 4 Alamos facility as his place of confinement; regarding Francisco Leiva Campos, it indicated that he was not being held. On March 11, the Supreme Court requested a new report from the Ministry of the Interior to clarify the contradiction regarding Francisco Leiva Campos. On April 15, that Department reiterated the information provided regarding the victim and, in relation to Francisco Leiva, indicated that he was not being held and that the previous information was due to a "regrettable error."

On April 21, 1975, the Supreme Court confirmed the appealed resolution, despite the fact that at the time the appeal was ruled upon, the relatives of Artemio Gutiérrez Avila still could not visit him in any facility, notwithstanding the information provided by the Ministry of the Interior.

Furthermore, despite this information and the existence of Exempt Decree No. 528 signed by the Minister of the Interior, General Raúl Benavides Escobar, which ordered his expulsion from the country, the truth is that his family never saw him again and they remain unaware of the fate he met at the hands of the DINA, just as in the case of Francisco Fuentealba Fuentealba.

Source: Vicaría de la Solidaridad

I would like to contribute my somewhat blurred memories of two companions who fell in the unequal struggle against the fascist dictatorship of Pinochet and his cowardly "men." Their names: Francisco Javier Fuentealba Fuentealba and Artemio Segundo Gutiérrez Avila. "Pancho" and "Gustavo," respectively.

Both were captured in July 1974 and are now forcibly disappeared. At the time I am referring to (1974), I could not fully confirm that they were militants of the MIR, since for security reasons, we never discussed the subject.

But regarding "Pancho," whom I met in 1966, I knew he sympathized with the Movement during those years. "Pancho" studied at the Theater School of the U. Católica, where other friends of mine also studied, and it was through them that I met him.

Pancho was a pleasant and cordial person. Authentically simple and very friendly. I still remember his broad, somewhat mocking smile and his sense of humor. He was rather short, thin, with broad shoulders; his hair was black, straight, and he combed it with a part on the left side; his nose was slightly aquiline.

He spoke slowly and radiated tranquility. Our contact over the years was rather sporadic. But we always considered each other good friends. I remember seeing his identity card on one occasion, but I do not remember his exact place of birth, perhaps Illapel.

But what I do remember is that he was from the north. Regarding his family, I knew he only had his mother. It was during the Unidad Popular government that Pancho appeared one day at my apartment, bringing me a cigar and a couple of bottles of Cuban rum as a gift.

Without commenting on the origin of the gifts, Pancho told me he had traveled abroad, without mentioning countries. Pancho was a good cook, and several times we enjoyed his culinary skills among friends.

When the dark night of the dictatorship fell upon Chile, I remember that one day Pancho returned to my apartment looking for a place to sleep. And so, a few weeks passed. Later, Pancho told me he had found another place, and we said goodbye.

Months passed, and the first rumors about arrests and executions began to circulate. I thought of him, as well as other friends with defined militancy, fearing they would become victims of Chilean military terrorism.

And one afternoon, some months later, the doorbell of my apartment rang, and upon opening the door, I found Pancho and his smile. This time he was accompanied by a tall boy, Gustavo. We hugged with joy and talked for a long time.

Gustavo did not speak much, but his eyes were lively and cheerful. He was very respectful and perhaps a little naive. Pancho told me they needed a place to sleep again, and even though the apartment where I lived with my wife and daughter was very small, we accommodated them somehow.

At those moments, I did not think about the risks, and in some way, we all naively thought of a quick return to democracy. We had to organize our departure and return times so as not to arouse suspicion.

Days passed, and we decided that both would start working in the jewelry workshop owned by my family. After a few weeks, Pancho told me they had found a house where they could set up a workshop and continue their work there.

And the fateful month of July 1974 arrived. My family and I had traveled outside of Santiago to visit some friends for a week. They continued working in the workshop, fulfilling their new trade as jewelers.

When I returned to Santiago, the workshop manager informed me about the arrest of my friends. A group of men dressed in civilian clothes and armed had appeared on the morning of July 13, 1974, asking for them, saying they had come to look for them and that they were members of the SIFA, the Air Force Intelligence Service.

The surprise was great among all the staff. My father went out to ask what it was about, arguing that they were friends of mine, and he received questions from the one who seemed to be the leader: "Friends of your son?

And where is your son?" My father was struck dumb and watched as Pancho and Gustavo were handcuffed and quickly taken from their workplace. When the workshop manager finished his story, I felt fear. I would be the next to be arrested, but nothing happened.

Some time later, a lady appeared at the workshop asking for me. Very nervous and distressed, she told me she was the mother of Artemio, Pancho's friend. That was the first time I heard Gustavo's real name.

Worried and terrified as I felt, I could only suggest that she go to the Vicaría de la Solidaridad to ask for support, and that I could not do more. I still had the hope that both would be detained and that they would be tried by some military tribunal, just as had happened with another friend some time before, who was now free after having served a 2-year sentence in prison.

Time passed, and I always had the hope of seeing my friends again someday, just as had happened once before, but I only came to find out about their possible death a few years later. I think my friends denied any link to me other than formal friendship.

Pancho suffered from a stomach ulcer, which possibly worsened under torture. Gustavo was a young and strong boy; he possibly resisted more. This account has taken me many years to write. Every time I tried, the grief overwhelmed me, just as it does now.

Nearly 29 years have passed, and the pain of having lost my two good friends remains alive. I eternally curse their murderers and their entire lineage. I will not forget and I will not forgive. When I think of them, my eyes still fill with tears, but their smiling faces also appear before me. Their eternal young faces as true fighters, who fell fighting for justice and for the people.

Source: By Enrique Trebitsch

During the civil-military dictatorship, at least a hundred people linked to culture, the arts, and heritage were executed and disappeared. September 11 marked the beginning of the most painful stage we have lived through, caused by State agents and complicit civilians.

Today we commemorate 48 years of that tragedy that still mourns all of Chile. More than three thousand people—men, women, children, and young people such as primary, secondary, and university students; pregnant women, the elderly, the blind, the disabled—were directly affected, and hundreds of thousands became family members and victims of the dictatorship.

Those who survive fight tirelessly for justice, reparation, and non-repetition of genocidal acts by the State. Men and women whose contribution to society came from their social struggle, as militants, and also from their trades and occupations as shoemakers, laborers, textile workers, doctors, linotypists, dressmakers, secretaries, union and neighborhood leaders, municipal officials, public employees, railway workers, newspaper vendors, carpenters; peasant laborers, miners, forestry workers, construction workers; engineers.

Also those who were passing through, on a mission, studying, or had started a family in Chile, coming from Vietnam, France, Spain, Bolivia, Argentina, Uruguay, England, Ecuador, among other countries. Some of their murderers and accomplices who pay lukewarm sentences in luxury prisons have deprived us of them, but they have also deprived us of nearly a hundred artists and creators whom we have identified, with the desire to offer a tribute to those who, from the realms of culture, arts, and heritage, were victims of state terrorism.

We have recognized 82 people whose creativity was expressed in audiovisuals, crafts, theater, architecture, photography, Visual Arts, literature, and music. In this note, you will be able to find the names of the people whose information allows them to be associated with an artistic language, according to the available information; however, it is highly possible that many remain to be identified.

You will also find a link to the information that, among all the people who make the site www.memoriaviva.com possible, is made available to us so that we can contribute to not forgetting until there is justice. For them… No forgiveness, no forgetting!! Among them is the forcibly disappeared Artemio Segundo Gutierrez Avila, a jeweler by profession, a militant of the MIR. (excerpt)

Source: prensaopal.cl 8/09/2021 Date: 09-08-2021

STATE ORDERED TO COMPENSATE FAMILY OF FORCIBLY DISAPPEARED DETAINEE WITH $400 MILLION

The 16th Court of Santiago ordered the State of Chile to pay a total compensation of $400 million pesos to the siblings of ARTEMIO SEGUNDO GUTIERREZ AVILA, detained on July 13, 1974, in Santiago. In the ruling, Judge Susana Ortiz Valenzuela accepted the legal action filed by eight of the victim's siblings and ordered the State to pay each of them $50 million pesos for moral damages.

The sentence is based on the ruling of the criminal branch of the case, issued in June 2016, which convicted former DINA agents for their responsibility in the disappearance of Artemio Gutiérrez, and on international treaties regarding human rights violations. "It is necessary to determine whether the requirements that make the claimed compensation for damages appropriate exist and lead to establishing the responsibility of the State in the kidnapping and subsequent disappearance of Artemio Segundo Gutiérrez Ávila, considering the applicable regulations," the ruling indicates. "Thus, the United Nations Charter contains among its purposes and principles the respect for Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms for all, a recurring theme in its objectives that has been reiterated in subsequent International Treaties," it adds. "Then, in the case of a human rights violation, we must also turn to the American Convention on Human Rights, which in its articles 1.1 and 63.1 states that when a human rights violation has occurred, the obligation arises for the infringing State to make reparations with the payment of fair compensation to the injured party," the resolution points out. Therefore, it continues, "in accordance with what is provided in the second paragraph of the aforementioned precept, the human rights guaranteed in a treaty are incorporated into the internal legal system, for which reason no organ of the State can disregard them. Said obligation also derives from International Treaties such as the 1949 Geneva Convention."

Source: lanacion.cl 11/09/2019 Date: 09-11-2019

Contreras, Krassnoff, and Moren Brito face new charges for human rights violations

Minister Leopoldo Llanos formulated the charges for the qualified kidnapping of four victims in 1974. by: UPI Visiting Minister Leopoldo Llanos issued an indictment against former members of the dissolved Dirección de Inteligencia Nacional (DINA) involved in two cases of human rights violations, which involve four victims of qualified kidnapping, crimes perpetrated starting in July 1974.

In the first case, the magistrate formulated charges against the former head of the defunct DINA, Manuel Contreras Sepúlveda, and former agents Miguel Krassnoff Martchenko and Marcelo Moren Brito, attributing responsibility to them as authors of the qualified kidnappings of Artemio Gutiérrez Ávila, Francisco Javier Fuentealba Fuentealba, and Abundio Contreras González; meanwhile, Basclay Zapata was held responsible only for the kidnappings of the three.

In the indictment, Llanos verified the following facts: "That Londres 38 was a secret detention and torture center located in the center of Santiago, which operated from the end of 1973 until approximately the last days of September 1974, and came to hold up to sixty detainees who remained blindfolded, gathered in a large room that had chairs during the day and mattresses at night.

From that common room, detainees were continuously taken to other areas to be interrogated and tortured, as well as to be taken to carry out other detentions." He adds in his findings that "Artemio Segundo Gutiérrez Ávila, 23 years old, jeweler, single, militant of the Movimiento de Izquierda Revolucionaria, MIR, was detained jointly with Francisco Javier Eduardo Fuentealba Fuentealba, 26 years old, jeweler, militant of the Movimiento de Izquierda Revolucionaria, MIR, by DINA agents on July 13, 1974, while they were at the 'Platinol' jewelry store located at Calle Santo Domingo No. 573, apartment 33, commune of Santiago, to be taken to the clandestine detention center known as 'Londres 38,' where they were seen by witnesses, with all credible traces regarding them being lost to date, without them having made contact with their relatives, nor having carried out actions before State agencies, without registering entries or exits from the country, and without their death being recorded." Likewise, the judge points out that "Abundio Alejandro Contreras González, 28 years of age, married, father of two children. He worked at the Corporación de Reforma Agraria (CORA) and was a militant of the MIR. He was detained on July 14, 1974, at his father's house by members of the Dirección de Inteligencia Nacional. He was seen at Londres 38 and at Cuatro Álamos by various witnesses, and from there all traces of him are lost to date, without him having made contact with his relatives, nor having carried out actions before State agencies, without registering entries or exits from the country, and without his death being recorded." Meanwhile, in the investigation into the kidnapping of Jaime Cádiz Norambuena, which occurred on July 17, 1974, the minister formulated charges against Manuel Contreras Sepúlveda, Miguel Krassnoff Martchenko, Marcelo Moren Brito, and Basclay Zapata Reyes. In this case, it was determined that: "Londres No. 38 was a secret detention and torture center located in the center of Santiago, which operated from the end of 1973 until approximately the last days of August 1974, and came to hold about sixty detainees, who remained blindfolded, with their hands tied, all gathered in a large room, from where they were continuously taken to other areas to be interrogated and tortured with different types of flagellation, including the application of electric current in the so-called 'parrilla' (grill). They were also taken from the place to cooperate in other detentions. Jaime Cádiz Norambuena, 23 years of age, a militant of the MIR, was detained without any judicial order on July 17, 1974, in the Población José María Caro by unidentified agents. He disappeared from the DINA facility at Londres 38, a place where he was seen by witnesses, without having made contact with his relatives, nor having carried out actions before State agencies, without registering entries or exits from the country, and without his death being recorded."

Source: lasegunda.com 19/03/2014 Date: 03-19-2014