Repressors from U. Santa María prosecuted in Woodward case

In a massive resolution, Judge Eliana Quezada of the Valparaíso Court of Appeals prosecuted four officers and nine non-commissioned officers (ret.) of the Navy as co-authors of the kidnapping—in September 1973—of the priest Miguel Woodward.

With this, the minister increased to 19 the number of those indicted in this investigation, precisely as 35 years have passed since the disappearance of the clergyman, who was a member of the MAPU. For the first time, the magistrate reported on the captain (ret.) Víctor Valverde Steinlein, who, as the then-director of the Navy's School of Operations, was the head of the Federico Santa María Technical University (UTFSM), which the Navy used until the end of October 1973 as a detention center following the military coup.

She also indicted captain (ret.) Luis Holley de la Maza and frigate captains (ret.) José Yáñez Riveros and Marcos Silva Bravo. They commanded the teams that the Navy formed, coordinated by Valverde, to repress in the Los Placeres, Esperanza, and Barón hills, using the facilities of the UTFSM as a place of confinement for those arrested in that area.

Miguel Woodward was arrested at his home in Placeres on September 21 and taken to that university, where he received the first beatings and torture. "A patrol from the UTFSM Operations Barracks arrested Woodward, where he was interrogated, beaten, and subjected to various forms of torture by Navy officials who were part of the School of Operations Company stationed there, only to be handed over the following day to the Naval War Academy (AGN)," the ruling by Judge Quezada maintains.

Ten of the thirteen prosecuted are already under arrest at the Marine Infantry barracks in Las Salinas in Viña del Mar, after being located by Investigations officials. Frigate captain (ret.) José Yáñez Riveros is returning to Chile in November because he is aboard a commercial vessel.

Regarding the other frigate captain (ret.) Marcos Silva Bravo, he is on vacation in the south, where he is being sought by police officials. Non-commissioned officer Alfredo Mondaca Salamanca lives in Iquique and has already been located.

It is expected that both will enter the same barracks today to serve their arrest. Miguel Woodward continued to be tortured at the AGN and was left dying, for which he was taken to the training ship Esmeralda, where there was a field hospital.

There, he was checked by the naval officer and doctor Kenneth Gleiser, who recommended taking him to the Naval Hospital, then located on the Playa Ancha hill. The exact place where Woodward died has not been determined.

The current defendants participated in the detention, beating, and torture of the priest, as well as his subsequent transfer to the AGN and the Esmeralda. The head of the AGN and the torturers of the clergyman at this academy—three vice admirals, two captains, and one lieutenant, all retired—were already indicted last April.

List of the Prosecuted 1.- Víctor Valverde Steilein (captain ret.) 2.- Luis Holley de la Maza (captain ret.) 3.- José Yáñez Riveros (frigate captain ret.) 4.- Marcos Silva Bravo (frigate captain ret.) 5.- José García Reyes (non-commissioned officer ret.) 6.- Alfredo Mondaca Salamanca (non-commissioned officer ret.) 7.- Luis Pinda Figueroa (non-commissioned officer ret.) 8.- Carlos Miño Muñoz (non-commissioned officer ret.) 9.- José Rojas Araya (non-commissioned officer ret.) 10.- Pedro Vidal Miranda (non-commissioned officer ret.) 11.- Héctor Palomino López (non-commissioned officer ret.) 12.- Guillermo Inostroza Opazo (non-commissioned officer ret.) 13.- Claudio Cerezo Valencia (non-commissioned officer ret.)

Source: La Nación, September 24, 2008

Judge accuses ten Navy officials of responsibility in Woodward Case

Judge Julio Miranda Lillo held ten Navy officers and non-commissioned officers responsible for the disappearance of the Chilean-British priest Miguel Woodward, whose physical trail was lost a few days after his arrest in September 1973.

Miguel Woodward Iriberry was a Chilean-British priest who, after the military coup, took refuge in various friends' houses, fearing for his life due to an arrest by Army officers. On September 18, 1973, he returned to his home in Cerro Placeres, where he was intercepted by naval officers who took him through various interrogation points until his physical trail was lost.

This Wednesday, Judge Julio Miranda Lillo presented an accusation against ten sailors for their alleged responsibility in the disappearance of Woodward. These are Navy officers and non-commissioned officers who are identified in the charges presented within the framework of the Woodward Case.

The prosecuted sailors are Luis Francisco Pinda Figueroa, Carlos Alberto Miño Muñoz, Guillermo Carlos Inostroza Opazo, José Manuel García Reyes, Marcos Cristián Silva Bravo, Nelson Roberto López Cofre, Jorge Leiva Cordero, Manuel Atilio Leiva Valdivieso, Bertalino Segundo Castillo Soto, and Héctor Fernando Palomino López.

Judge Miranda argued that “the facts outlined above constitute the existence of the crime of kidnapping followed by serious harm (possibly resulting in death) to the person of Michael Roy Woodward Iribery, which is contemplated in Article 141 of the Penal Code, in force at the time of the events, meeting all the requirements that constitute it, since he was deprived of his freedom of movement without legal basis, being kept under detention or confinement in Navy facilities, which has continued from the month of September 1973 onwards, without his whereabouts being known or his remains having been found.” Miguel Woodward was taken to the Santa María University and then transferred to the training ship Esmeralda, an emblematic place of the Chilean armed forces used as a detention and torture center during the dictatorship. Given the deterioration experienced by Woodward after the interrogations, he was transferred to the Naval Hospital, with no physical record of him thereafter. Although a naval doctor issued a death certificate for the priest, it was never possible to find the location of his body. The latest efforts were carried out in the common grave of the Valparaíso cemetery, without positive results. The accusation will be notified to the plaintiffs and then to the defense of the accused, to then begin the plenary stage, prior to the issuance of a first-instance conviction.

Source: Radio Universidad de Chile, May 18, 2011

Former uniformed personnel convicted for kidnapping of priest in 1973

The retired Navy non-commissioned officers were sentenced for the aggravated kidnapping of the Chilean-British priest Miguel Woodward. The magistrate of the Valparaíso Court of Appeals, Julio Miranda, sentenced two former members of the Navy this Tuesday for the disappearance of the Chilean-British priest Miguel Woodward in 1973, who died aboard the Esmeralda and whose remains have still not been found.

The retired non-commissioned officers José Manuel García Reyes and Héctor Fernando Palomino López were sentenced for the crime of aggravated kidnapping (disappearance) of the clergyman, and the State must pay an indemnity of 50 million pesos to Woodward's sister for moral damages.

In addition, other former officials of the institution were acquitted of the crime. These are Manuel Leiva, referred due to suffering from dementia; and Carlos Miño, Marcos Silva, Guillermo Inostroza, Luis Pinda, and Bertalino Castillo, due to lack of participation in the act.

It should be remembered that in a resolution issued in 2011, which was ratified by the Court of Appeals and the Supreme Court, 19 other retired officers who had been prosecuted in this case were dismissed.

The disappearance of Miguel Woodward occurred days after the coup d'état, when the priest was arrested by a Navy patrol at his home in Valparaíso and taken to the Federico Santa María Technical University and then to the Naval War Academy.

According to the investigation, he had been tortured in both places. On September 21, 1973, the clergyman was taken from the Academy to be transferred to the training ship Esmeralda, where he died. After his death, his body was taken to the Naval Hospital. However, his remains have never been found.

Source: 24horas.cl, May 27, 2013

Remitted sentences of three years and one day: Two former sailors were convicted for the death of priest Woodward

The visiting minister of the Valparaíso Court, Julio Miranda, convicted two former Navy officials for the death of the British priest Michael Woodward, shortly after the 1973 military coup. Non-commissioned officer (ret.) José García Reyes and sergeant (ret.) Héctor Palomino López received three years and one day in prison, with the benefit of supervised release.

The resolution acquits the non-commissioned officers (ret.) Manuel Leiva (due to dementia), Carlos Miño, Marcos Silva, Guillermo Inostroza, Luis Pinda, and Bertalino Castillo (the latter five due to lack of participation).

Miranda concluded that Woodward was taken from his home and brought to the Naval War Academy, "without an administrative or judicial order," and that he was on the training ship Esmeralda and at the Naval Hospital, where a doctor certified his death.

His body never appeared. In a statement, British Ambassador Jon Benjamin maintained that although it is not the job of his government to comment on Chilean judicial decisions, "we think that this was a very serious crime against humanity against a British citizen."

Source: El Mercurio, May 8, 2013