13 Army members sentenced to 5 years in prison for the disappearance of two Uruguayan citizens.

by Vyeruska V. The Supreme Court issued a final judgment against 13 retired Army members as co-perpetrators of the crimes of aggravated kidnapping of Nelsa Zulema Gadea Galán (29) and Julio César Fernández Fernández (27), who have been forcibly disappeared since late 1973.

In a split decision, the Second Chamber of the country's highest court—composed of ministers Milton Juica, Hugo Dolmestch, Haroldo Brito, Juan Eduardo Fuentes, and Lamberto Cisternas—revoked “(…) the appealed judgment of July 25, 2012, written on page 3,062, in the part that acquitted the following defendants of the judicial accusation: Ricardo Fortunato Judas Tadeo Soto Jerez, Jorge Rosendo Núñez Magallanes, Gladys de las Mercedes Calderón Carreño, Klaudio Erich Kosiel Hornig, Ramón Luis Carriel Espinoza, Fernando Armando Cerda Vargas Rodolfo Toribio Vargas Contreras It is declared in its place that all of them are convicted as co-perpetrators of the crimes of aggravated kidnapping of Nelsa Zulema Gadea Galán and Julio César Fernández Fernández, to a single sentence of five years of minor imprisonment in its maximum degree, with the accessory penalties of absolute perpetual disqualification for political rights and absolute disqualification for public offices and positions during the term of the sentence, and the payment of court costs.”

Likewise, the resolution adds: “The aforementioned judgment is confirmed in all other appealed aspects, with the declaration that the custodial sentence is reduced to five years of minor imprisonment in its maximum degree—for the same crimes indicated in the previous paragraph—for the sentenced individuals: Valentín del Carmen Escobedo Azua Raúl Pablo Quintana Salazar Vittorio Orvieto Tiplizky Ramón Acuña Acuña Juan Manuel Guillermo Contreras Sepúlveda Nelson Patricio Valdés Cornejo David Adolfo Miranda Monardes

“Since the requirements contemplated in Law No. 18.216 are met in this case,” it continues, “all sentenced individuals are granted the alternative benefit of supervised release, and they must submit to control by the Gendarmería for a term of five years and comply with the conditions established in Article 17 of the aforementioned law in the manner determined in the respective Regulation.”

Decision agreed upon, regarding the sentence imposed on Gladys Calderón Carreño, with dissenting votes from ministers Fuentes and Cisternas, who were in favor of acquitting her of the charges, ratifying the first-instance decision.

Meanwhile, ministers Juica and Brito deemed it inappropriate to recognize the qualified mitigating circumstance of Article 103 of the Penal Code for the defendants, and were therefore in favor of maintaining the appealed sentence in that chapter.

Source: Voz Ciudadana, September 10, 2015