5 individuals are prosecuted for the murder of Absalón Wegner and Rigoberto Achú.

The Visiting Judge of the Valparaíso Court of Appeals, Julio Miranda Lillo, indicted the members of the so-called “death squad” for the qualified homicide of Absalón Wegner and Rigoberto Achú: General Héctor Manuel Orozco Sepúlveda; Lieutenants Sergio Francisco Jara Arancibia and Pedro Luis Lovera Betancourt; Non-commissioned Officer Milton René Núñez Hidalgo; and medical officer Raúl Navarro Quintana.

It should be noted that on December 13, 1973, Absalón Wegner and Rigoberto Achú were being held at the San Felipe prison. Under those circumstances, they were requested by the Military Prosecutor's Office, stationed at the Regimiento Nº 3 Yungay, and were transported by a patrol from that same unit.

Upon returning, the military personnel fired a burst of machine-gun fire at both of them. Death was immediate; immediately afterward, they approached the victims and fired a tiro de gracia (coup de grâce).

Following this, they removed the bodies, leaving Gendarmerie personnel in charge of cleaning the area. Alvaro Pávez, the lawyer for Rigoberto Achú's family, stated that “we are at a stage in the investigation where there are well-founded suspicions and serious evidence that these 5 individuals participated as perpetrators.

The sentences they could face for qualified homicide would range from 5 years to life imprisonment.” Carlos Aedo, brother of Rigoberto Achú, noted that the Visiting Judge's decision reaffirms the hope that existed regarding the results of the investigation that began in mid-2012.

For the family, it must now be determined who gave the order to kill these political leaders and why, as well as who carried out this measure. Regarding this, Carlos Aedo, brother of Rigoberto Achú, indicated: “the very fact of being prosecuted means that all the evidence has been consolidated to begin a definitive trial.” When asked if the family would forgive those guilty of his brother's death, Aedo said, “this is difficult for us, so there is no forgiveness and no forgetting.” During the hearing held by Rigoberto Achú's family with the Visiting Judge, the importance of the decision to prosecute those responsible for the deaths of these two political leaders of the era was highlighted. At the time of his death, Rigoberto del Carmen Achú Liendo was 31 years old, married with three children, and a former detective with the Investigative Police; he served as the head of social development for the provinces of San Felipe and Los Andes, and was also the regional secretary of the Socialist Youth. Meanwhile, Absalón del Carmen Wegner Millar was also 31 years old at the time of his detention. A physician by profession, he was married with 2 children. He served as the zonal director of health for the Aconcagua province and was also a general practitioner at the hospitals in San Felipe and Putaendo. He belonged to the Communist Party.

Source: Artevision Canal, May 17, 2013

This Friday, the five former military officers involved in the murders of Rigoberto Achú and Absalón Wegner in December 1973 were placed in prison at the Peñalolén facility, after being notified of their prosecution at the First Court of Letters of San Felipe by Visiting Judge Julio Miranda Lillo. (Photo: Lawyer Álvaro Pavés met outside the court with family members and friends of the victims) Throughout this Friday, the notification of prosecution against the five former military officers—Héctor Manuel Orozco Sepúlveda, Sergio Francisco Jara Arancibia, Raúl Orlando Pascual Navarro Quintana, Pedro Luis Lovera Betancourt, and Milton René Núñez Hidalgo—was carried out at the offices of the San Felipe Court of Letters, located on Calle Molina, by Visiting Judge Julio Miranda Lillo, for their responsibility in the homicides of Rigoberto Achú and Absalón Wegner on December 13, 1973, outside the San Felipe prison, while they were serving at the Regimiento Yungay. Waiting for the arrival of the five former military officers to be notified of their prosecution, about twenty people, including family members and friends of the victims, as well as some politicians such as Deputy Marco Antonio Núñez and councilors Ricardo Covarrubias and Mario Sottolichio, gathered near 11:00 AM outside the court. However, the arrival of the former military officers took place gradually, with Sergio Jara Arancibia being the first to arrive at the court, while Manuel Orozco Sepúlveda, Pedro Lovera Betancourt, and Milton Núñez were arrested in Santiago and transported in the afternoon to San Felipe by PDI personnel, with Dr. Raúl Navarro Quintana being the last to appear. The lawyer for the families of Rigoberto Achú and Absalón Wegner, Álvaro Pavés, after meeting with Visiting Judge Julio Miranda Lillo, stated that the five former military officers, after completing the first part of the investigation upon the reopening of the case for the murder that occurred 40 years ago, were prosecuted in their capacity as perpetrators; “of these crimes which are imprescriptible, non-amnestiable, and are crimes against humanity.” The Visiting Judge's resolution was received with great satisfaction by the family members and lawyer Pavés; “because we believe he has carried out a very important investigative task. We believe, however, that we must still advance in establishing responsibilities not only for qualified homicide, but also for the crimes of torture and illegal detention. This is beginning the final stage; we have to rewrite history to establish the responsibilities of those who illegally detained, deprived of liberty, and then tortured. Because let us remember that in '73, a version was given to public opinion of this as an escape attempt by people who were coming from brutal torture, who were not capable of standing on their feet, which is being discredited as a result of the investigation developed by Visiting Judge Julio Miranda.” The same professional indicated that the detainees will be charged with qualified homicide and that the Visiting Judge would only have to request a couple of procedures; “because we believe the investigation is practically exhausted.” Regarding the possible sentences the former military officers could receive, the lawyer said they could range from five years to life imprisonment; “which is what we are going to request.” After 4:00 PM, when the last of the prosecuted individuals were taken out of the court to be transported to the facility where they will be held in Peñalolén, a group of people reacted against them with a “funa” (protest), resulting in three young people—two men and one woman—being detained by the Carabineros.

Source: El Aconcagua.cl, May 24, 2013

Those prosecuted for the deaths of Rigoberto Achú and Absalón Wegner released on bail

The five military officers prosecuted for the deaths of political prisoners Rigoberto Achú and Absalón Wegner were released on bail, each paying the sum of five hundred thousand pesos to continue the investigation being carried out by Visiting Judge Julio Miranda Lillo.

It should be noted that the former uniformed officers, Héctor Orozco, Raúl Navarro, Pedro Lovera, Sergio Jara, and Milton Núñez, had been detained last Friday when they were notified by Judge Miranda Lillo that they were being deprived of their liberty due to the aforementioned investigation into both crimes.

Upon leaving the courts, the five accused were confronted by PC (Communist Party) councilor Ricardo Covarrubias, who was alone and called them cowards, while the former commando Pedro Lovera, his face covered by a type of scarf, responded with insults from the vehicle transporting them.

Once the five former uniformed officers had departed, Covarrubias stated, “here we are, facing five criminals who abused not only in these two crimes but who are also pursued for the deaths of the workers from the Petorca province, murdered earlier in October 1973,” he asserted.

At the same time, the councilor indicated, “in truth, these types of characters are a sad memory for Chile, and when one sees how they are treated, as if they were true divas of show business, that is when one questions what kind of society we are inserted in, with criminals who walk free on the streets, who when confronted cover their faces so as not to be discovered by society,” he indicated.

In the same vein, the councilor appealed to justice “so that they return to prison as soon as possible, because we are talking about cruel murderers who mocked [the victims] when they murdered and tortured political prisoners.

We are talking about criminals and not exactly honorable people, and our country finances them with high pensions to live an old age different from that of the rest of the workers of our homeland,” he sentenced.

Finally, Ricardo Covarrubias stated, “these criminals are surely already with their families in their homes, hugging their wives, their children, and grandchildren, without explaining to them that they were criminals and that they abused defenseless people, or simply telling them lies as they did when they issued the decrees in 1973, when they claimed they applied the 'law of flight,' while the prisoners could not even walk from the pain of all the torture they were applying to them,” he concluded.

Source: AconcaguaNews, May 20, 2013

Reenactment of the murder of Rigoberto Achú and Absalón Wegner to take place

For this Monday, December 9, at 1:00 PM outside the San Felipe Penitentiary Compliance Center, the reenactment of the murder of political prisoners Rigoberto Achú and Absalón Wegner, who died on December 13, 1973, is scheduled.

The procedure was ordered by the judge of the case, Magistrate Julio Miranda Lillo, within the framework of the prosecution and investigation being pursued against Dr. Raúl Navarro, Lieutenant Pedro Lovera, and Army officials Héctor Orozco, Milton Núñez, and Sergio Jara Arancibia, who must appear for the procedure, which is expected to allow for progress in clarifying this case, as well as to determine the degree of responsibility of each of those involved.

Achú Liendo, together with Dr. Absalón Wegner Millar, two political prisoners at the beginning of the military dictatorship, were subjected to the most horrible torture, first at the hands of the Investigative Police, when their barracks operated in the current Community Development Directorate, and then at the Regimiento Yungay in San Felipe.

Both died at the hands of Army officials on the night of December 13, 1973, with the aforementioned individuals currently being prosecuted for this crime. Almost 40 years later, the Minister of the Valparaíso Court of Appeals, Magistrate Julio Miranda Lillo, prosecuted the five former uniformed officers in mid-May as alleged perpetrators of this macabre crime.

Indeed, the statement published in the newspaper El Mercurio regarding these deaths indicated that both political prisoners, under circumstances where they were arriving at the Calle Molina prison and due to a breakdown in the vehicle transporting them, had to walk under military guard, a moment they took advantage of to attempt an escape, which forced the military officials to open fire.

It was as a result of a complaint filed by the Ministry of the Interior in July 2011 that an investigation led by Visiting Judge Julio Miranda Lillo was opened. More than 40 witnesses have testified in this case, the summary of which contains more than 2,000 pages.

The five prosecuted individuals were initially detained in Peñalolén after being notified by the judge at the San Felipe Court of Letters, only to be released three days later upon payment of a 500,000 peso bail each.

Source: El Trabajo.cl, December 3, 2013

Reenactment of the murder of Rigoberto Achú and Absalón Wegner carried out

After 2:00 PM this Monday, outside the San Felipe Penitentiary Compliance Center located on Calle Molina, the reenactment of the murders of political prisoners Rigoberto Achú and Absalón Wegner, which occurred on December 13, 1973, was carried out.

This event, days before reaching 40 years, was important for family members, friends, and acquaintances of these two leaders, as, according to the national situation, this is the first reenactment of the murders of political prisoners.

The procedure was ordered by the judge of the case, Magistrate Julio Miranda Lillo, within the framework of the prosecution and investigation being pursued against Dr. Raúl Navarro, Lieutenant Pedro Lovera, and Army officials Héctor Orozco, Milton Núñez, and Sergio Jara Arancibia, an investigation and forensic analysis that will allow for progress in clarifying this case, as well as to determine the degree of responsibility of each of those involved.

As recalled, it was as a result of a complaint filed by the Association of Families of Political Executions (Agrupación de Familiares Ejecutados Políticos) in favor of Rigoberto Achú that the Ministry of the Interior opened an investigation in July 2011 led by Visiting Judge Julio Miranda Lillo regarding this case, prosecuting the five perpetrators of this crime in mid-May.

More than forty witnesses have testified in this case, the summary of which contains more than two thousand pages. The five prosecuted individuals were initially detained in Peñalolén after being notified by the judge at the San Felipe Court of Letters, only to be released three days later upon payment of a 500,000 peso bail each.

Family members await the resolution of this case, which sets a precedent in our country's justice system, to continue with the complaint of the Communist Party leader, physician, and director of the Aconcagua health service, Absalón Wegner.

Source: AconcaguaNews.cl, December 10, 2013

Covarrubias: “We all know that Orozco murdered Achú and Wegner”

This Monday, the reenactment of the scene was carried out for five military officers belonging to the former Regimiento Yungay of San Felipe, who are accused of the deaths of political prisoners Absalón Wegner Millar and Rigoberto Achú Liendo.

It should be noted that the former uniformed officers are General (ret.) Héctor Orozco, Lieutenants Pedro Lovera and Sergio Jara Arancibia, the doctor of the Regimiento Yungay at the time, Raúl Navarro, and the non-commissioned officer, Milton Núñez, who are being prosecuted by Visiting Judge Julio Miranda Lillo. “The military officers of the Regimiento Yungay of San Felipe who murdered our comrades Rigoberto Achú and Absalón Wegner are nothing more than cowards, since they lie when they state that they were not at the scene of the events that night of December 13, 1973, when they were quartered,” asserted PC councilor Ricardo Covarrubias. It should be noted that he expressed these sentiments when he heard General (ret.) Héctor Orozco Sepúlveda say that at his age “he does not remember the events well and that he was also an honorable man within the army and a plenipotentiary ambassador.” Faced with this, Covarrubias refuted him with a list of judicial actions that implicate the military officer in another indictment, such as “for the crime of qualified kidnapping of Army non-commissioned officer Guillermo Jorquera Gutiérrez, who was forcibly disappeared in 1978, a case linked to the trial for the murder of former Foreign Minister Orlando Letelier,” the councilor specified. At the same time, Covarrubias pointed out that Orozco laughs at the human intelligence of Chileans by saying that his honorability is reflected in his great military career: “the 5th Chamber of the Santiago Court of Appeals subjected him to an investigation for the death of six people and the disappearance of the Army lieutenant and member of the DINE, Guillermo Gutiérrez, detained on January 23, 1978, when he was attempting to seek asylum at the Venezuelan embassy,” he specified. When asked if he believes in justice, given that the former military officer still remains free despite all the investigations that have been carried out against him in the courts, he stated that “I think that 40 years after the coup, we must appeal to the confidence in the judicial apparatus, beyond what may have happened with this gentleman, but when I see that there are several military officers imprisoned in Punta Peuco, it is because one must trust in something. Otherwise, we would not be supporting the lawsuit against those who murdered our comrades Rigoberto Achú and Absalón Wegner,” the councilor stated. At the same time, Covarrubias specified that at this moment, the people of San Felipe have focused their attention on everything that Visiting Judge Julio Miranda Lillo can resolve, “because the families remember that December 13, 1973, as a day of terror, just like October 11 of the same year, when a military patrol from the Regimiento Yungay murdered five mining workers from the Petorca province in the Las Coimas sector, on the road to Putaendo,” he asserted. “It is worrying to think that having a career is the same as having a criminal record, because we all know who Héctor Orozco was and who the group of characters are who today want to make people believe that they were innocent in the human rights violations in Chile, when many of them cannot even leave the country because Interpol is waiting for them upon their return to catch them for their crimes,” concluded Ricardo Covarrubias.

Source: Putaendo Uno, December 10, 2013

"EN LA MIRA" EXPOSED ON CAMERA TORTURER DOCTORS WHO STILL PRACTICE THEIR PROFESSION

Social networks were on fire during the broadcast of the report by the Chilevisión program "En la Mira," where the faces of the most emblematic physicians who participated in torture actions during the Pinochet regime were shown.

The program showed a report called "Torturer Doctors," investigating cases of people who were tortured, with these professionals in charge of monitoring their conditions and determining whether the detainees could or could not continue with the torture session.

In other cases, such as that of Dr. Guido Díaz Pacci, the investigation was shown that incriminates him in the execution of Jorge Jordan, a Communist Party doctor who in 1973 was tortured and murdered in the Coquimbo Region when he was 29 years old.

In this regard, Díaz Pacci was allegedly the one who delivered the tiro de gracia to the physician. Several cases were shown in this Wednesday's report, demonstrating the cruelty exercised in the country's regiments, such as those in Arica, La Serena, and Tejas Verdes, where sexual torture was also practiced and in which the majority of the agents of repression participated.

They also showed the case of Dr. Raúl Navarro Quintana, who, like all the alleged torturer physicians, still continues to treat patients and moves about in absolute impunity through the streets. In the case of Navarro Quintana, he is accused of having been a member of the death squad and is held responsible for the death of Absalón Wegner and the former detective Rigoberto Achú.

Apart from Navarro Quintana, the report by journalist Alejandro Vega named other professionals who are also involved in some way in the "work" entrusted to them by the repressive apparatuses of the dictatorship to "keep alive" those being tortured.

Among those named are Vittorio Orvietto, an ophthalmologist at the Clínica Plus Médica; Manfred Jurgensen, a former member of the CNI; Alejandro Forero, a doctor who allegedly participated in the Caravan of Death and who currently works at the Clínica Indisa; and Eugenio Fantuzzi, in charge of the DINA health department, who was expelled from the Medical Association.

The raw report gave a detailed account of many cases of torture narrated by their victims and by witnesses who saw the horrendous actions of some professionals. In the final part of the segment, journalist Alejandro Vega and his cameraman confronted some of those involved, who were surprised by the arrival of the camera and immediately denied their participation with phrases accompanied by evident nervousness that even caused them to stumble over their words.

The Chilevisión program also revealed the friendship that existed between the former commander-in-chief of the army, Juan Emilio Cheyre, and one of the alleged torturers, Dr. Guido Díaz Pacci. In this regard, both victims and witnesses of the macabre events pointed out that both functioned as a pair that abused and denigrated the detainees.

Finally, it was reported that this Thursday, lawyer Cristian Cruz filed a complaint for torture regarding the case of the torturer doctors broadcast by the program "En la Mira."

Source: La Nacion, May 29, 2014

Minister Jaime Arancibia Pinto issues indictments against three retired Army officials for the kidnapping of 4 victims in San Felipe.

The magistrate prosecuted Héctor Orozco Sepúlveda, a former Army officer; Raúl Navarro Quintana, a doctor and former Army officer; and Milton Núñez Hidalgo, a former Army non-commissioned officer, as perpetrators of the crime of kidnapping with serious injury.

The Visiting Judge for human rights cases of the Valparaíso Court of Appeals, Jaime Arancibia Pinto, prosecuted three retired members of the Army for the crime of kidnapping with serious injury to the detriment of Faruc Jimmy Aguad Pérez, Mario Alvarado Araya, Pedro Abel Araya Araya, José Armando Fierro Fierro, Artemio Pizarro Aranda, and Wilfredo Ramón Sánchez Silva, an illicit act committed in San Felipe between October 8 and 10, 1973.

The magistrate prosecuted in the case (Rol 14-2014) Héctor Orozco Sepúlveda, a former Army officer; Raúl Navarro Quintana, a doctor and former Army officer; and Milton Núñez Hidalgo, a former Army non-commissioned officer, as perpetrators of the crime of kidnapping with serious injury.

In the investigation stage of the case, the visiting judge managed to establish the following facts: that between October 8 and 10, 1973, the victims Faruc Jimmy Aguad Pérez, Mario Alvarado Araya, Pedro Abel Araya Araya, José Armando Fierro Fierro, Artemio Pizarro Aranda, and Wilfredo Ramón Sánchez Silva were detained by Carabineros from Cabildo, without a judicial or administrative order, being taken first to the La Ligua Police Station and then to the San Felipe Carabineros Police Station, from which they were removed by superior order on October 11 of the same year by a patrol composed of police personnel and troops from the Regimiento Yungay to be taken—supposedly—to the Putaendo prison. On the road, at the height of the Las Coimas sector, they were taken out of the vehicle in which they were being transported and were put to death, executing them with firearm shots, thus configuring the crime of kidnapping with serious injury, insofar as the victims were deprived of their liberty, without right, for several days, a detention that caused serious damage to those affected, who were finally deprived of their lives, a figure provided for and sanctioned in article 141, paragraph 3, of the Penal Code of the time. The resolution adds that while it is true that those mentioned above were already prosecuted for the crime of homicide of the indicated persons in case Rol No. 2182-98 of the Santiago Court of Appeals, the Mario Alvarado episode, a process in which a conviction was issued in the first instance and an acquittal in the second instance for all of them, it is no less true that the illicit act for which they were sentenced was qualified homicide, with no pronouncement regarding the kidnapping and other crimes that occurred in the same events, and without prejudice to the estimation that regarding those, apparent or fraudulent res judicata would operate, so it appears abundantly justified to pursue the responsibility of Milton René Núñez Hidalgo, Héctor Manuel Rubén Orozco Sepúlveda, and Raúl Orlando Pascual Navarro Quintana for the illicit act to which this resolution refers. With Héctor Orozco Sepúlveda currently imprisoned at the Punta Peuco Penitentiary Compliance Center (CCP), and Milton Núñez Hidalgo and Raúl Navarro at the Colina 1 Penitentiary Compliance Center, "let the 34th Criminal Court of Santiago be exhorted to notify them of this resolution, delivering a copy of it to them, and once done, let an order be issued for their entry as prosecuted individuals in this case, also authorizing the exhorted court to grant the appeal in the event that it is filed."

Source: diarioconstitucional.cl, October 4, 2019