FACH officer (ret.) prosecuted for 1973 disappearance of doctor

Visiting judge Alejandro Solís prosecuted former commander of the No. 3 Helicopter Group of Maquehue -Temuco- Andrés Pacheco Cárdenas and Carabineros non-commissioned officer Clenardo Figueroa Cifuentes yesterday, as perpetrators of the kidnapping of the director of the Cunco Hospital, Eduardo González Galeano, which occurred on September 14, 1973.

Meanwhile, Carabineros corporal Gamaliel Soto Segura was indicted as an accomplice to the crime, as he is identified as the person who detained the victim. The disappeared doctor was an active member of the Revolutionary Left Movement (MIR), a situation for which he was detained along with his wife, Natacha Carrión, by Carabineros personnel to be taken to the Cunco police station.

At that location, they were interrogated separately to obtain information about weaponry. "These police and military facilities were operated by officials who ordered or carried out other captures of individuals who were members of political parties, whom they illegally imprisoned, breaking them under physical torments of various kinds with the objective of making them provide information about allegedly hidden weapons," the resolution states.

The ruling establishes that González and Carrión were put on a helicopter, under the command of commander Benjamín Fernández, to be taken to the Maquehue Air Base in Temuco, commanded by officer Pacheco.

On that occasion, his wife, who was three months pregnant, noticed that her spouse was severely mistreated and had a bloodied face. The doctor told his wife, at a moment when they were left alone, that the interrogating officer mentioned to him that the weapons had been found in the walls of the house.

This surprised Natacha, because she had been told they were found among the furniture. This was the last conversation the couple had before they were separated and González disappeared.

Source: La Nación, September 28, 2006

Justice system issues conviction for 1973 aggravated kidnapping of doctor

Judge Alejandro Solís sentenced two former Carabineros to 10 and three years in prison. The magistrate also refused to grant compensation for damages. The investigating judge of the Santiago Court of Appeals, Alejandro Solís, issued a first-instance sentence this Thursday in the investigation into the aggravated kidnapping of the doctor and Director of the Cunco Hospital, Eduardo González Galeno, who was abducted in September 1973 in the La Araucanía Region.

For these events, the magistrate determined to sanction retired Carabineros officer Clenardo Figueroa Cifuentes with 10 years and one day in prison for his responsibility as a perpetrator of the aggravated kidnapping.

Likewise, he sentenced the former police officer Gamaliel Soto Segura to three years and one day in prison for his responsibility as an accomplice to the aggravated kidnapping. Judge Solís also dismissed the claim for compensation for damages filed against the Chilean Treasury, accepting the plea of lack of jurisdiction of the court.

Source: latercera.cl, December 10, 2009

Two non-commissioned officers (ret.) convicted for 1974 aggravated kidnapping of doctor

The decision was supported by judges Milton Juica, Carlos Künsemüller, Haroldo Brito, and Guillermo Silva. Magistrate Hugo Dolmestch, meanwhile, voted against it. SANTIAGO.- The Supreme Court issued a sentence in the investigation into the aggravated kidnapping of doctor Eduardo González Galeno, which occurred on September 14, 1974, in the town of Cunco, La Araucanía Region.

In a split decision, the judges of the Second Chamber of the highest court (Milton Juica, Hugo Dolmestch, Carlos Künsemüller, Haroldo Brito, and Guillermo Silva) determined sentences against two retired Carabineros non-commissioned officers.

They are Gamaliel Soto Segura and Clenardo Figueroa Cifuentes, who each received 10 years and one day in prison, without benefits, for their responsibility as perpetrators of the crime they are charged with.

The ruling was adopted with the dissenting vote of Dolmestch, who was in favor of accepting the appeals for annulment filed by the defense of the convicted men to apply the figure of "half-prescription" (statute of limitations) of the criminal action and reduce the length of the sentences.

Regarding the civil aspect, the appeal for annulment filed by the Treasury against the sentence that had granted the payment of an indemnity of $50,000,000 to the victim's family members regarding the issue of the court's lack of jurisdiction was rejected.

However, the judges unanimously determined to accept for processing the appeal regarding the issue of civil prescription and to send the records to the full Supreme Court so that it may rule on this last point.

The records of the case for the aggravated kidnapping of Eduardo González Galeno -a case investigated by judge Alejandro Solís Muñoz- determined that the victim, a 31-year-old doctor and director of the Cunco Hospital, was detained at his home along with his wife, Natacha Carrión Osorio (also a doctor), by the two convicted men, who handed him over to FACh personnel at the Maquehue air base in Temuco.

Meanwhile, Dr. Carrión Osorio was transferred to the women's prison in Temuco, a facility she left in 1975 to serve a sentence of banishment (extrañamiento), which was issued by a War Council that convicted her shortly after her detention.

Source: Emol.com, June 27, 2012

Human Rights: 2 Carabineros convicted for disappearance of Cunco hospital director

Supreme Court ratified sentences against 2 retired non-commissioned officers for the aggravated kidnapping of doctor Eduardo González Galeno, which occurred on September 14, 1974, in the La Araucanía Region.

It also confirmed the payment of $50,000,000 in compensation to the family. The Supreme Court issued a final sentence in the investigation into the aggravated kidnapping of doctor Eduardo González Galeno, which occurred starting on September 14, 1974, in the town of Cunco, La Araucanía Region.

In a split decision, the judges of the Second Chamber -Milton Juica, Hugo Dolmestch, Carlos Künsemüller, Haroldo Brito, and Guillermo Silva- determined the following sentences against the retired Carabineros non-commissioned officers: Gamaliel Soto Segura : 10 years and one day in prison, without benefits, for his responsibility as a perpetrator of aggravated kidnapping.

Clenardo Figueroa Cifuentes : 10 years and one day in prison, without benefits, for his responsibility as a perpetrator of aggravated kidnapping. The ruling was adopted with the dissenting vote of judge Dolmestch, who was in favor of accepting the appeals for annulment filed by the defense of the convicted men to apply the figure of the half-prescription of the criminal action and therefore reduce the length of the sentences.

In the civil aspect, the appeal for annulment filed by the Treasury against the sentence that granted the payment of an indemnity of $50,000,000 to the victim's family members regarding the issue of the court's lack of jurisdiction was rejected.

However, it was unanimously determined to accept for processing the appeal for annulment regarding the issue of civil prescription and to send the records to the full Supreme Court so that it may rule only regarding this last point.

The records of the case for the aggravated kidnapping of Eduardo González Galeno -which was investigated by judge Alejandro Solís Muñoz- determined that the victim, a 31-year-old doctor and director of the Cunco Hospital, was detained at his home along with his wife, Natacha Carrión Osorio (also a doctor), by a Carabineros patrol that included the two convicted men, who handed him over to personnel of the Chilean Air Force at the Maquehue air base in Temuco, the facility where his trail was lost.

Meanwhile, Dr. Carrión Osorio was transferred to the women's prison in Temuco, a facility she left in 1975 to serve a sentence of banishment, which was issued by a War Council that convicted her shortly after her detention.

Source: La Nación, June 27, 2012

Two Carabineros convicted for disappearance of director of the Cunco Hospital

Supreme Court ratified sentences against two retired non-commissioned officers for the aggravated kidnapping of doctor Eduardo González Galeno, which occurred on September 14, 1974. It also confirmed the payment of 50 million pesos in compensation to the family.

The Supreme Court issued a final sentence in the investigation into the aggravated kidnapping of doctor Eduardo González Galeno, which occurred starting on September 14, 1974, in the commune of Cunco. In a split decision, the judges of the Second Chamber -Milton Juica, Hugo Dolmestch, Carlos Künsemüller, Haroldo Brito, and Guillermo Silva- determined the following sentences against the retired Carabineros non-commissioned officers: -Gamaliel Soto Segura: 10 years and one day in prison, without benefits, for his responsibility as a perpetrator of aggravated kidnapping. -Clenardo Figueroa Cifuentes: 10 years and one day in prison, without benefits, for his responsibility as a perpetrator of aggravated kidnapping. The ruling was adopted with the dissenting vote of judge Dolmestch, who was in favor of accepting the appeals for annulment filed by the defense of the convicted men to apply the figure of the half-prescription of the criminal action and therefore reduce the length of the sentences. Maquehue Air Base In the civil aspect, the appeal for annulment filed by the Treasury against the sentence that granted the payment of an indemnity of 50 million pesos to the victim's family members regarding the issue of the court's lack of jurisdiction was rejected. However, it was unanimously determined to accept for processing the appeal for annulment regarding the issue of civil prescription and to send the records to the full Supreme Court so that it may rule only regarding this last point. The records of the case for the aggravated kidnapping of Eduardo González Galeno -which was investigated by judge Alejandro Solís Muñoz- determined that the victim, a 31-year-old doctor and director of the Cunco Hospital, was detained at his home along with his wife, Natacha Carrión Osorio (also a doctor), by a Carabineros patrol that included the two convicted men, who handed him over to personnel of the Chilean Air Force at the Maquehue air base in Temuco, the facility where his trail was lost. Meanwhile, Dr. Carrión Osorio was transferred to the women's prison in Temuco, a facility she left in 1975 to serve a sentence of banishment, which was issued by a War Council that convicted her shortly after her detention.

Source: Elperiodico.cl, June 27, 2012