A new case of human rights violations has been judicially clarified, resulting in a conviction for the perpetrators of events recorded in Villarrica in 1973. This is a first-instance sentence handed down against former reserve officer of the Tucapel Regiment, Nelson Thielemann, and civilian Juan Insunza Poblete.

The former was sentenced to 10 years and one day in prison as the perpetrator of aggravated kidnapping, while the latter was sentenced as a co-perpetrator. The court imposed a sentence of three years and one day on the latter for the same crime.

Cabinetmaker Cabinetmaker Héctor Velásquez Mardones was a militant in the Communist Party, was single, and was 29 years old at the time of his detention. The events that led to his disappearance took place at three in the afternoon on November 3, 1973, outside his home and in front of his parents.

The investigation conducted by the Special Cases and Human Rights Brigade of the Investigative Police confirmed that after the detention, those now convicted proceeded to take Velásquez Mardones to the Rodrigo Bastidas bridge in Villarrica and, after shooting him twice, threw him into the waters of the Toltén River, in the Ninth Region.

The importance of this sentence is that the circumstances of Velásquez Mardones's death were clarified 32 years after the events occurred, and after the case had been dismissed by the military justice system, which had closed the investigation 48 hours after the complaint was filed a quarter of a century ago.

Source: lanacion.cl, May 18, 2005

Supreme Court confirms conviction of (R) Lieutenant for aggravated kidnapping

The highest court rejected the cassation appeal filed by a former member of the Army accused of the disappearance of Héctor Velásquez in 1973. The Second Criminal Chamber of the Supreme Court unanimously confirmed the application of the charge of aggravated kidnapping filed against a military officer prosecuted for the disappearance of Héctor Arnaldo Velásquez Mardones, which occurred on November 3, 1973.

The court, composed of its permanent members, rejected the cassation appeal on the merits filed by Army Lieutenant (R) Nelson Thielemann Rodríguez, who was sentenced to 10 years and one day by the Minister of the Court of Appeals of Temuco, Fernando Carreño, whose sentence was confirmed by the same appellate court.

The highest court rejected this filing due to formal defects in the document submitted by the defense, as while the accused's participation in a crime is acknowledged, it is argued that this offense is different from the one determined by the investigation, and the appellant's arguments suggest that the crime has not been proven, without specifying which one should be established, nor has the participation been established.

The Supreme Court chamber was composed of Alberto Chaigneau, acting as president, his colleagues Enrique Curi, Jaime Rodríguez, and Rubén Ballesteros, as well as acting lawyer Fernando Castro. A conviction was also obtained against Juan Enrique Inzunza Poblete, corresponding to three years of minor imprisonment in its medium degree as a co-perpetrator of the aforementioned crime.

Source: elmostrador.cl, April 5, 2006

Case file No. 39.041, Aggravated Kidnapping of Héctor Ernaldo Velásquez Mardones (Excerpt)

EIGHTH: That while providing an investigative statement on pages 359 to 360 verso, the accused Juan Enrique Inzunza Poblete stated that in the month of November 1973, in the company of his ex-spouse Ingrid Angela Thielemann Pinto, he attended the wedding of her cousin in the city of Villarrica, with the civil ceremony being held at the Cathedral of that commune and the reception at the Fire Department casino, with the attendees moving to the bride's house moments before the curfew.

Among the guests, he remembers Eitel Thielemann, his nephew Nelson Thielemann, his mother-in-law, the bride's sister, her parents, and other relatives. He adds that at a time close to midnight, his father-in-law Eitel asked him to accompany him, to which he agreed, and both left the bride's house, boarded a white C-10 model pickup truck owned by the latter, and headed to an address he does not remember, from which Nelson Thielemann emerged wearing a military field uniform and carrying a firearm; he boarded the vehicle, sitting to his right, so he remained between both people.

They then headed to a modest wooden house with no front yard fence. At that place, the three of them got out, and while Eitel and Nelson Thielemann entered the interior, he remained on the street. After a while, both came out of the house with an individual who had his torso bare, wearing only pants and shoes.

At that moment, Nelson drew his weapon and began to point it at the guy, then striking him with the handle and asking him, along with Eitel, for names of people belonging to the Communist Party. Next, they tied the guy's wrists behind his back, and the three of them loaded him into the back of the vehicle, heading to the bridge over the Toltén River, located at the exit of Villarrica; at that place, they made him get out and placed him leaning against the bridge railing, where the Thielemanns again insisted that he provide names of Communist Party militants.

At one point, Nelson fired a couple of shots at him; the subject fell to the floor, so they took him and threw him into the riverbed. Immediately afterward, the three of them got into the pickup truck and headed to his father-in-law's house. Finally, he adds that they never spoke about the subject again, resulting in a kind of tacit agreement in that regard.

Source: poderjudicial.cl, May 3, 2005