The minister in extraordinary visitation for human rights violation cases of the Valparaíso Court of Appeals, Jaime Arancibia Pinto, submitted 18 former Navy and Carabineros officials to prosecution for their responsibility in the crime of aggravated kidnapping of the British-born priest Miguel Woodward Iriberry, an illicit act perpetrated starting in September 1973.

In the case, Minister Arancibia issued an indictment against retired Navy officials Guillermo Samuel Aldoney Hansen, Juan Guillermo Mackay Barriga, Ricardo Alejandro Riesco Cornejo, Víctor Sergio Valverde Steinlen, José Ignacio Yáñez Riveros, Pedro Vidal Miranda, Alfredo Hugo Moncada Salamanca, Claudio Francisco Cerezo Valencia, Pedro Abrego Diamantti, Juan de Dios Reyes Basaur, Jaime Segundo Lazo Pérez, Alejo Esparza Martínez, Carlos Líbano Riquelme, and Sergio Hevia Febres (*).

Likewise, he prosecuted former Carabineros officials Héctor Nelson Tapia Olivares, Ángel Lorca Fuenzalida, Enrique Orlando Corrales Díaz, and Luis Ricardo Araya Maureira. In the resolution, and following the description of the facts, the magistrate established that "the existence of the crime of aggravated kidnapping, as contemplated in Article 141, paragraphs 1 and 4 of the Penal Code, is configured in the person of the priest Miguel or Michael Roy Woodward Iriberry, meeting all the requirements that constitute it, as he was deprived of his freedom of movement without legal right, being kept under detention or confinement, first in a facility controlled by the Navy and then in units of said institution, being subjected to continuous interrogations and torture, with his trail being lost, which has continued from his detention in the month of September 1973 to the present day, without his whereabouts being known or his remains having been found." He added that it is an illicit act "that has the character of a permanent or continuous execution and is understood to be in the degree of commission throughout the entire period that the situation typified and sanctioned in the aforementioned legal provision lasts, which continues to this day because the whereabouts or destination of Michael Woodward, or eventually his remains, are still unknown, with no concrete information about the victim being available until now."

(*) Editor's Note

By means of resolution, Roll no. 140.454-2001, it is rectified that the second surname of the prosecuted Sergio Hevia -cited in this note- is Febres, so on March 15, 2017, the text is modified on this particular point, clarifying that the aforementioned is Sergio Hevia Febres.

Source: elmostrado.cl, May 8, 2015

Woodward Case: 13 other retired Navy officials prosecuted

The special judge of the Valparaíso Court of Appeals, Maria Eliana Quesada, began notifying 13 other indictments against retired Navy officials for the crime of aggravated kidnapping of the priest Miguel Woodward, who died in September 1973 after his detention on the training ship Esmeralda.

The newly prosecuted individuals began arriving after noon at the Valparaíso Court of Appeals, where they are currently being notified by the magistrate. These include four retired officers, Navy captains Víctor Valverde Steinlein, Luis Holley de la Maza, and frigate captains José Yáñez Riveros and Marco Silva Bravo; the senior non-commissioned officers José Manuel García, Alfredo Moncada Salamanca, Luis Pinda Figueroa, and Carlos Miño Muñoz; and non-commissioned officer José Rojas Araya.

Also the first sergeants Pedro Vidal Miranda and Héctor Palominos López; second corporal Guillermo Inostroza Opazo and first seaman Claudio Cerezo Valencia. Once they are notified of the judicial resolution, the newly prosecuted individuals will remain detained at the Navy's Order and Security barracks No. 2 in Valparaíso.

Source: emol.cl, September 23, 2008

13 former marines prosecuted for the Woodward case

As of the closing of this edition, ten of 13 retired Navy officials had been notified by the special judge of the Valparaíso Court of Appeals, Eliana Quezada, of their indictments for the crime of aggravated kidnapping of the priest Miguel Woodward, which occurred in September 1973.

The rest of the officers were to be notified last night or this morning, as they were not in the area at the time the judge's decision became known. The list includes four retired officers, Navy captains Víctor Valverde Steinlein and Luis Holley de la Maza, and frigate captains José Yáñez Riveros and Marco Silva Bravo; the senior non-commissioned officers José Manuel García, Alfredo Moncada Salamanca, Luis Pinda Figueroa, and Carlos Miño Muñoz; and non-commissioned officer José Rojas Araya.

In addition, there are first sergeants Pedro Vidal Miranda and Héctor Palominos López; second corporal Guillermo Inostroza Opazo and first seaman Claudio Cerezo Valencia. When asked, the Commander-in-Chief of the Navy, Admiral Rodolfo Codina, acknowledged being aware of the facts but did not delve into further comments. Those notified remained detained in naval facilities.

Source: emol.cl, September 24, 2008