The visiting judge of the Santiago Court of Appeals, Mario Carroza, issued an indictment in the investigation he is conducting into the qualified homicide of Ricardo Ruz Zañartu, which occurred on November 27, 1979, in the commune of Ñuñoa, Metropolitan Region.

In the case, the magistrate indicted the retired Carabineros officers Luis Monroy Mora and José Orellana Taiba for their responsibility—as perpetrators—in the homicide of the former leader of the Revolutionary Left Movement (MIR).

According to the case records, on the afternoon of November 27, 1979, "under circumstances in which the victim RICARDO DELFIN RUZ ZAÑARTU, 34 years old, a teacher and militant of the Revolutionary Left Movement (MIR), was heading to a meeting inside a taxi traveling along Calle Pedro de Valdivia, from south to north, he was intercepted by Carabineros in a vehicle checkpoint.

Obeying the instructions of the traffic officer who stopped the car, he turned onto Calle Las Encinas. As the victim was about to exit the vehicle to be checked, he drew a 9mm Browning pistol and fired from inside the vehicle at the inspecting personnel while exiting the taxi, fleeing north along Av.

Pedro de Valdivia. An exchange of gunfire occurred between the Carabineros personnel stationed at the location and Ruz Zañartu, who was struck by bullets on the eastern sidewalk of said avenue. He continued his flight, crossing Pedro de Valdivia diagonally, where he fell to the ground on the western sidewalk, and under those circumstances, a police officer approached him and fired, ultimately causing his death." The official version, provided by the Carabineros de Chile personnel who participated in the events, states that "the victim allegedly died as a result of a confrontation, a claim that is dismissed, as there is abundant evidence in the case file demonstrating that Ricardo Delfín Ruz Zañartu died as a result of trauma to the extremities and pelvic area caused by bullets and subsequent acute anemia," the resolution adds.

Source: pjud.cl, June 17, 2014

MIR leader Ricardo Ruz Zañartu was finished off on the ground

Minister Mario Carroza indicted former Carabineros officers Luis Monroy Mora and José Orellana Taiba as responsible for the crime of qualified homicide. It was established that although Ruz used his pistol to evade arrest during a police check, the police bullets that caused his death occurred when he was finished off on the ground.

The events occurred on November 27, 1979, in the commune of Ñuñoa when the victim, a 34-year-old teacher, was heading to a meeting of his organization, the Revolutionary Left Movement (MIR), inside a taxi traveling along Calle Pedro de Valdivia.

He was intercepted by Carabineros in a vehicle checkpoint, and obeying the instructions of the traffic officer who stopped the car, he turned onto Calle Las Encinas. "Under circumstances in which the victim was about to exit the vehicle, when he was about to be checked, he (Ruz Zañartu, Editor's Note) drew a 9mm Browning pistol, with which he fired from inside the vehicle at the inspecting personnel, while exiting the taxi, fleeing in a northerly direction along Av.

Pedro de Valdivia," states the judicial resolution. The justice system established that there was "an exchange of gunfire between the Carabineros personnel stationed at the location and Ruz Zañartu, who was struck by the impacts on the eastern sidewalk of said avenue, after which he continued his flight, crossing Pedro de Valdivia diagonally, where he fell to the ground on the western sidewalk." "Under those circumstances, a police officer approached him and fired, ultimately causing his death.

The official version provided by the Carabineros de Chile personnel who participated in the events states that the victim allegedly died as a result of a confrontation, a claim that is dismissed, as there is abundant evidence in the case file demonstrating that Ricardo Delfín Ruz Zañartu died as a result of trauma to the extremities and pelvic area caused by bullets and subsequent acute anemia," the resolution states.

The autopsy report The 1979 autopsy report, incorporated into the case file, stated the following: "Right upper extremity: a) Arm: entry and exit wound; involves superficial muscles. Its trajectory is from top to bottom and from right to left. b) Forearm: entry and exit wound, fractures the humerus and medium-caliber arterial and venous vessels.

Its trajectory is from bottom to top and from right to left. Right lower extremity: a) Thigh: tangential wound involving only skin and subcutaneous tissue. b) Leg: entry and exit wound: lesions to skin and subcutaneous tissue.

Its trajectory is from top to bottom and from right to left. Left lower extremity: a) Thigh: injures superficial muscle planes and medium-thickness venous and arterial vessels. The projectile is found in the leg.

Trajectory is from top to bottom and from back to front. b) Leg: entry and exit wound: injures superficial muscle planes. Its trajectory is from bottom to top and from left to right. Left gluteal region: entry wound, injures iliac bone and the iliac artery and vein; exit wound in the left inguinal region.

Its trajectory is from back to front, from top to bottom, and from right to left. 4.- The micro-chemical study of gunpowder deflagration products in all orifices was negative, and on the clothing, only traces of carbon and nitrate were found on the undershirt and shirt of the right sleeve. 5.- Of all the numbered projectiles, the one that causes the most damage and acute anemia is the one in the gluteal region. 6) These traumas are recent and vital. 7.- Projectile attached." Following this expert report, Judge Mario Carroza ordered an expansion of the autopsy report and a ballistic analysis.

With all this evidence, the magistrate ordered the issuance of an arrest warrant for the accused Luis Ernesto Monroy Mora and José Antonio Orellana Taiba, through the O.S.9 Department of the Carabineros de Chile, and to carry out the legal notifications and designations, as well as the criminal records of the accused. by Carlos Antonio Vergara

Source: Villa Grimaldi.cl, June 19, 2014

Minister Carroza acquits two retired Carabineros for the homicide of a MIR militant

The judge maintained that the case regarding the death of Ricardo Ruz Zañartu does not correspond to a crime against humanity and that there was no evidence to link the accused to the event. The minister on extraordinary assignment for human rights violation cases of the Santiago Court of Appeals, Mario Carroza, issued an acquittal in favor of retired Carabineros officers José Orellana Taiba and Luis Ernesto Monroy Mora, releasing them from responsibility in the qualified homicide of Ricardo Delfín Ruz Zañartu, an illicit act perpetrated in November 1979 in the Metropolitan Region.

Both former uniformed officers had been indicted in June 2014. In the ruling, Minister Carroza maintains that there is no evidence in the case to link the accused to the homicide of the militant of the Revolutionary Left Movement (MIR), a crime that, furthermore, does not correspond to a crime against humanity.

In his ruling, the minister maintains "not having acquired the conviction that the accused Monroy and Orellana bore culpable and legally punishable participation in this crime." He also states that, in his opinion, the case "does not possess the characteristics typical of a crime against humanity, such as eventual political persecution or having been part of the systematic attack that a large part of the country suffered as a State policy at the time." The resolution adds that "it must necessarily be concluded that in this case, the cause for the extinction of criminal liability provided for in number 6 of article 93 of the Penal Code has operated in favor of the accused." "Consequently, it is appropriate to accept the exception of the statute of limitations for criminal action raised and to acquit the accused of the charges brought against them," the ruling states. On November 27, 1979, Ricardo Ruz, a 34-year-old teacher, was traveling inside a taxi along Avenida Pedro de Valdivia, in Ñuñoa, heading to a meeting of his organization, when he was intercepted by Carabineros in a vehicle checkpoint on Calle Las Encinas. He then drew a 9mm caliber pistol, with which he fired from inside the rental vehicle at the uniformed personnel, while exiting the taxi, fleeing in a northerly direction. An exchange of gunfire then occurred between the Carabineros and Ruz Zañartu, who, despite having been struck by bullets, continued his flight, crossing Pedro de Valdivia diagonally until he fell to the ground on the western sidewalk. There, a police officer approached him and fired, ultimately causing his death.

Source: puranoticia.pnt.cl, August 20, 2015

Court Case No. 1610-2015: Homicide case of Ricardo Ruz Zañartu

27°) That in this instance, the facts investigated, as established in the sentence, occurred on November 27, 1979, and since the time limit for exercising it has elapsed, the exception of the statute of limitations must be accepted.

For these considerations and in accordance, furthermore, with the provisions of articles 28, 29, 68, and 141 of the Penal Code, and articles 509 and 527 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, it is declared that: The appealed sentence of August 18, 2015, written on page 1700 and following, is revoked insofar as it acquitted José Antonio Orellana Taiba and Luis Ernesto Monroy Mora of the charge of being perpetrators of the crime of qualified homicide in the person of Ricardo Ruz Zañartu , perpetrated in this city on November 27, 1979, and in its place, it is declared that they are each sentenced, as perpetrators of the illicit act of simple homicide, to the penalty of three years and one day of minor imprisonment in its maximum degree, plus the accessory penalties of absolute disqualification for political rights and absolute disqualification for public offices and positions during the term of the sentence.

Source: Judiciary, March 11, 2016