Oscar Enrique FETIS SABELLE, 35 years old, entomologist for the Agricultural and Livestock Service (SAG). Sergio Iván FETIS VALENZUELA, 27 years old, employee of the Agricultural and Livestock Service (SAG) and a member of the Radical Party.

Tomás Enrique RAMIREZ ORELLANA, 26 years old, construction worker and a member of the Communist Party. Luis Guillermo WALL CARTES, 22 years old, mechanic, member of the National Party. All of them were arrested by a patrol composed of Carabineros and military personnel, and were transported in a truck belonging to the Agricultural and Livestock Service (SAG).

The same vehicle was seen by witnesses the following morning at the Regiment. The families' efforts to locate them were unsuccessful. The Commission, in consideration of the testimonies received; the fact that the characteristics of these events resemble others with similar outcomes; and given the number of people affected by the same situation, none of whom have provided any news in seventeen years, reached the conviction that they were subjected to forced disappearance by the responsibility of State agents.

It is implausible to the Commission that four people from the same neighborhood could have jointly and voluntarily decided to hide, even from their own families, who carried out various legal actions to try to locate them.

Source: Rettig Report

The National Forestry Corporation (Conaf) gifted memorial trees to 17 families of the forcibly disappeared from the civil-military dictatorship in Ñuble, during an emotional commemorative act for the International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances at the Puente El Ala Memorial, located on the border of the communes of Chillán and San Nicolás.

This was a sign of solidarity with the pain of families who have spent nearly 50 years demanding justice for their loved ones, victims of crimes against humanity, who according to historical investigations were executed at that location.

Norma Pérez, acting director of Conaf Ñuble, stated that "the Corporation seeks to highlight a civic culture of respect for human rights in all its dimensions, and in this case, through the gift of life, symbolized by the presentation of 17 oak trees for the families of the forcibly disappeared." Speaking for the Association of Relatives of the Forcibly Disappeared of Chillán, spokesperson Teresa Retamal thanked Conaf for the initiative, noting that "it is important that State institutions involve themselves and commit to opposing human rights violations.

And this oak tree signifies the dignification of our loved ones." Meanwhile, the presidential delegate of Ñuble, Claudio Ferrada, stated that "it is prudent to continue advancing in matters of truth, justice, and reparation, because recognizing our past and our history allows us to have a better future." Finally, within the framework of the commemorative act, the Table for Culture, Memory, and Human Rights of Ñuble presented the Presidential Delegation of Ñuble and the Regional Secretariat of Cultures, Arts, and Heritage with a file requesting the declaration of the Puente El Ala Memorial as a National Historic Monument.

Source: ladiscusion.cl 31/8/2022

Date: 08-31-2022

Supreme Court convicts retired Carabineros officer for the kidnapping of 4 people in Chillán in 1973

The Supreme Court sentenced retired Carabineros officer Patricio Marabolí Orellana to 5 years and one day in prison, as the perpetrator of the crime of aggravated kidnapping of Óscar Fetis Sabelle, Sergio Fetis Valenzuela, Luis Wall Cortés, and Tomás Ramírez Orellana, crimes perpetrated starting on November 5, 1973, in the city of Chillán.

In a split decision (case file 24045-2015), the Second Chamber of the high court—composed of justices Carlos Künsemüller, Haroldo Brito, Juan Eduardo Fuentes, Lamberto Cisternas, and Jorge Dahm—upheld the appeal for cassation filed against the ruling that had acquitted the uniformed police officer.

The high court's ruling establishes that there are well-founded presumptions of Marabolí Orellana's participation in the four kidnappings. The victims were detained in the Población El Tejar in Chillán on November 5, 1973. "That, in the opinion of this Court, the facts or indications useful or suitable to be considered in light of the decisive legal provision in this matter—Article 488 Nos. 1 and 2 (insofar as it requires multiplicity)—are the following: A.

At the time the investigated events occurred, Carabineros and Army patrols were constantly going out with the purpose of locating extremists, which is why it was not possible to locate the specific patrol that participated in the detention of the aforementioned individuals. (Report No. 209 of the Investigations Police of Chile, dated January 23, 1974, added to page 6 of the case file).

B. The repressive Commission that operated with officials from the Civil Commission of the Second Carabineros Precinct of Chillán, to which Patricio Marabolí Orellana belonged, had the objective of carrying out politically motivated detentions and used green jeeps with greenish-gray canvas covers, which came from the Agricultural and Livestock Service (S.A.G.) of Chillán. (Report No. 186 of the Investigations Police of Chile, dated February 3, 2006, added to page 118 and following).

C. Óscar Enrique Fetis Sabelle, Sergio Iván Fetis Valenzuela, and Luis Guillermo Wall Cartes were detained by repressive State agents who, without any justification, raided their home and detained these individuals.

These officials were personnel of the Carabineros of Chile who worked in the Civil Commission of the Second Carabineros Precinct, specifically designated for the detention of militants and/or sympathizers of various leftist political parties and people with ideals opposed to the prevailing regime. (Report No. 186 of the Investigations Police of Chile, cited above).

D. The existence of the Military Intelligence Service (SIM) at Infantry Regiment No. 9 of Chillán, in which the accused operated as an "attached officer." E. Óscar Fetis Sabelle and Sergio Fetis Valenzuela, residing in Población El Tejar, appeared on a list of persons "to be located," sent by the Commander of the Chillán Regiment to the Prefect of Carabineros of that city. (Document on page 662 and statement by Miguel Eduardo Duque San Martín, pages 1081 and 1082).

F. The accused's performance, at the time the events occurred, as an officer in charge of detaining people for political reasons, who were then tortured, using S.A.G. vehicles for the apprehensions. (Statements by José del Carmen Venegas Jara, page 343; Hugo Alberto Apablaza Henríquez, page 365; remarks by Azis Saleh Saleh, in a confrontation added to page 638; statement by Samuel Alonso San Martín Urra, page 746; statement by Luis Humberto Candia Parra, page 740).

G. A warning from one of the members of the patrol that carried out the detention, heard by Ms. María Cleria Ramírez Orellana and Ms. Helia Rosa Ramírez Orellana and directed at one of the victims, Tomás Orellana: "Don't act tough, or you'll have to deal with my Lieutenant Marabolí." (Statements on pages 505 and 732).

H. Recognition of the accused in a photograph of himself by Ms. Helia Rosa Ramírez Orellana, who states on page 732 regarding this: "Regarding what I am asked if I recognize in the photos shown to me any uniformed officer who appeared on that occasion at my house, when they took my brother, I recognize the one who acted as the boss, who was the youngest, photo added to page 226 of the First Volume." On page 226 (old pagination) is the photograph of Patricio Marabolí Orellana." In the civil aspect, the State of Chile was ordered to pay a total indemnity of $840,000,000 (eight hundred and forty million pesos) to the victims' families.

Source: tribunadelbiobio.cl 7/9/2016

Date: 09-07-2016

OSCAR HENRIQUE FETIS SABELLE and SERGIO IVAN FETIS VALENZUELA

On November 5, 1973, the following were detained at their homes in the Población El Tejar of Chillán: · Oscar Enrique FETIS SABELLE, 35 years old, entomologist for the Agricultural and Livestock Service (SAG). · Sergio Iván FETIS VALENZUELA, 27 years old, employee of the Agricultural and Livestock Service (SAG) and a member of the Radical Party. · Tomás Enrique RAMIREZ ORELLANA, 26 years old, construction worker and a member of the Communist Party. · Luis Guillermo WALL CARTES, 22 years old, mechanic, member of the National Party.

All of them were arrested by a patrol composed of Carabineros and military personnel, and were transported in a truck belonging to the Agricultural and Livestock Service (SAG). The same vehicle was seen by witnesses the following morning at the Regiment.

The families' efforts to locate them were unsuccessful. The Commission, in consideration of the testimonies received; the fact that the characteristics of these events resemble others with similar outcomes; and given the number of people affected by the same situation, none of whom have provided any news in seventeen years, reached the conviction that they were subjected to forced disappearance by the responsibility of State agents.

It is implausible to the Commission that four people from the same neighborhood could have jointly and voluntarily decided to hide, even from their own families, who carried out various legal actions to try to locate them.

Sergio Iván Fetis Valenzuela, a widower with two children, an employee of the SAG, a member of the Radical Party, and his cousin Oscar Fetis Sabelle, an entomologist and employee of the SAG, were detained at their home in Población El Tejar in Chillán on November 5, 1973, at approximately 11:30 PM.

A pair of Carabineros arrived at the house asking for Sergio Fetis; he was already in bed, they made him get up and informed him that they were taking him into custody. His cousin and brother-in-law, Oscar Fetis, asked the Carabineros for the arrest warrant and an explanation for the arrest; as this was not answered, he asked to accompany the detainee along with Luis Wall Cartes, who was visiting.

Thus, the three left the house with the Carabineros, walked toward the corner of Calle Central and 1 Poniente where the vehicles the patrol was using were parked, were made to board a green van belonging to the SAG (Agricultural and Livestock Service), and were driven away from the scene.

From that moment on, what happened to the three affected individuals, who remain disappeared to this day, is unknown. The detention occurred in the presence of Oscar Fetis's spouse and Sergio's sister, María Edimia Fetis Valenzuela, and the domestic worker.

From the following day, the wife began searching for her relatives in various detention centers; upon going to the Regiment, she saw that they were washing the van in the courtyard in which the three detainees had been transported, which she was able to identify by remembering the vehicle's license plate.

At police stations and other facilities, she was unable to obtain any information about the detainees. A few days later, she was informed by a Carabineros Lieutenant that the detention had been carried out by personnel from the CIRE (Regional Intelligence Command).

In order to verify this information, she spoke with the officer in charge of this Service, who denied the accuracy of this information. To date, both detainees, like Luis Wall Cartes, remain in the status of disappeared.

It should be noted that on the same day, November 5, 1973, Tomás Enrique Ramírez Orellana was detained at his home, also located in Población El Tejar, and he remains to this day in the status of a forcibly disappeared person.

JUDICIAL AND/OR ADMINISTRATIVE ACTIONS

A relative of two of the detainees, Daniel Fetis Sabelle, sent letters to the Commander-in-Chief of the Navy, Admiral José T. Merino, and to the Minister of the Interior, General César R. Benavides, in 1974 and 1975, requesting an investigation into the detention and subsequent disappearance of his relatives and also pointing out the difficult socioeconomic situation that the wife and children were living in, but he did not receive a concrete response to his requests.

On December 14, 1973, Oscar Fetis's wife and Sergio's sister, María Edimia Fetis Valenzuela, filed a report for alleged disappearance at the Investigations Police Station of Chillán, which was passed to the 2nd Criminal Court, initiating case file 42,748.

During the investigation, the complainant ratified her statements before the Court and to the Carabineros and Investigations officials tasked with carrying out the corresponding inquiries; an Investigations official also reported having gone to the 2nd Carabineros Precinct in order to locate the patrol that had participated in the detention, which was not possible given that at that time "Carabineros and Army patrols were constantly going out with the purpose of locating extremists." On February 12, 1974, the Judge declared the summary closed and the temporary dismissal of the case.

The Court of Appeals reinstated the case on March 6, 1974, considering the investigation incomplete, and ordered new proceedings, specifying some related to Luis Wall Cartes. The 2nd and 6th Suburban Precincts of Chillán reported having no record in the corresponding books of the detention of any of the three people about whom they were consulted.

On the other hand, in compliance with the order to investigate, Investigations officials made inquiries at police stations, outposts, the Public Jail, hospitals, and the Legal Medical Institute without positive results.

Luis Wall's mother and the complainant appeared before the Court and ratified the recounted facts, with the latter adding that about ten days after the detention of her relatives, a Carabineros Lieutenant named Saleh arrived at her house to inform her that he had not participated in the arrest and disappearance, as it was an operation carried out by the SIM (Military Intelligence Service) under the command of Lieutenant Marabolí.

Both officials later testified before the Court; Carabineros Lieutenant Azis Saleh stated that he had indeed gone to María Edimia Fetis's home only to clarify that he had no connection to the detention of her relatives, as she had made comments to that effect.

Carabineros Lieutenant Patricio Marabolí Orellana declared that it was true that he had been working at the Chillán Regiment since the end of September 1973, that he did not wear a uniform, and that he had not participated in military or Carabineros operations.

Once these proceedings were carried out, Judge Hugo Neira Carrillo considered the investigation exhausted and temporarily dismissed the case on April 26, 1974, a resolution that was approved by the Court of Appeals on May 13.

On November 10, 1978, Luis Wall Cartes's mother filed an amparo (habeas corpus) appeal, case file 104,938, which led to further inquiries. Regarding Sergio Fetis, the Warden of the Chillán Prison reported that he had entered that facility on September 21, 1973, and was released on the 24th of the same month due to a lack of evidence against him; the Ñuble Military Prosecutor's Office and the 6th Precinct of Chillán reported having no information on any of the affected individuals.

The Minister of the Interior, Sergio Fernández F., reported that that Ministry did not issue any order affecting them, nor is there any record that the Security Services carried out operations against them; furthermore, he points out that that Secretariat of State received presentations from the relatives of the amparo petitioners and inquiries were ordered to determine their whereabouts, which did not yield positive results.

This amparo was denied on November 24, 1978; the records were sent to the First Court of Chillán, where case file 10,909 for alleged disappearance was initiated, which was dismissed on January 11, 1979.

On November 5, 1971, I met Sergio Iván at his sister Edimia's house, as she was my sister Julia's teacher; at that time, she was teaching her English at the Escuela España (Edimia was also a poet). Later, days passed when I was at school, and he came to look for me; I was surprised.

I thought he was too much for me. I, a student, and he, a professional. He was a man of approximately 1.85 m, blond, blue-eyed, very handsome. Women chased him, which is why I didn't get my hopes up too much.

This man followed me wherever I was. We started dating. He was a tender, loving man. One of the anecdotes I remember most occurred when he arrived at the school to pick me up. I was leaving class and found him talking to the teacher, since they didn't allow anyone inside the school, and he tells the young lady that he was my guardian.

That's how he took care of me; he was tender but very jealous. I "showed off" in front of my classmates; he would come to pick me up every day in his truck, and I would tell him: "Let's go drop off my classmates!" and he would indulge me.

As a 19-year-old girl, I was happy just to have him. We always went out with "MEMO" (Guillermo Wall, forcibly disappeared), our friend. We went to the river, to the beach with his family. I had permission to go out for certain hours, because he would watch me with binoculars from his house to mine to see if I went out or not, and I would catch him; he would tell me, "Don't go out, my dear." After some time, in 1972, I found out that his sister had a friend, she was a teacher and was dating Sergio Iván.

I was very proud and told him that everything was over, since he had this girl. Then he grabbed me by the arm and took me to the house where his sister and the friend were; we went in and he says to Edimia and Carmen (the girlfriend): "I'm bringing Laura, she will be my woman, the mother of my children, I'm going to marry her," and the young lady told me: "You won because you're younger." In September 1973, our daughter Carol was born.

He was happy with her, he was possessive, he didn't want anyone to hold her. After those days, he tells me: "Laura, they have accused me of taking over the radio station and causing disorder on the public highway." I answered him: "But you haven't gone out, you were with us." He tells me: "Don't worry, be calm Laura, I love you and our daughter very much, I will always be with you." That's how he calmed me down, since I was worried, telling him: "Look at what is happening, I sense something very big." On November 5, I went to my mother's house, which was across from the little plaza, and the time got away from me; the curfew arrived (5 in the afternoon). I couldn't go home. Meanwhile, at home, since we lived with my brother-in-law and our friend MEMO (22 years old) was there, he couldn't leave either; he was from the Christian Democratic Party (also forcibly disappeared). That night, November 5, at approximately 10:15 PM, S.A.G. vehicles, military, and Carabineros began to appear under the command of Captain Duque and Lieutenant Salech, also from the C.N.I., the black Opazo, Márquez Riquelme, Alarcón, and others. They took the three of them together: Memo, Oscar, and Sergio Iván, but they were only going to look for Sergio; the others just accompanied him. Later they went to look for Enrique Ramírez (forcibly disappeared), they called him "Che Palo," they also lived in El Tejar, and they took all four together. On November 6, my sister-in-law came to look for me; where didn't we go? At the Governor's office, they told us: "Why look for him? These men must be with other women, don't be stupid, crying over a man." Others told my sister-in-law: "Sleep with me, we'll tell you where they are," etc. This went on for a long time, searching without finding anything, ever. They laughed at us. My daughter, that day, November 5, was 2 months old when her father disappeared. In December, I baptized my daughter at the San Vicente church; her godparents were there; her aunt Eudimia and my nephews, my mother, and I in the solitude of the church, which seemed very large for us; so insignificant were those moments. We continued searching, until today, everything is nothing. We stayed here in Chillán, I and my daughter Carol. Edimia went with her children to Temuco to her parents' house where they still were because the persecution was horrible; they raided her house 5 or more times a day. It was something never seen in this land, human injustice, and it fell upon us in a very terrible way. Laura de Fetis (Excerpted from the book Historical Memory of the Forcibly Disappeared of Ñuble) The Supreme Court sentenced retired Carabineros officer Patricio Marabolí Orellana to 5 years and one day in prison, as the perpetrator of the crime of aggravated kidnapping of Óscar Fetis Sabelle, Sergio Fetis Valenzuela, Luis Wall Cortés, and Tomás Ramírez Orellana, crimes perpetrated starting on November 5, 1973, in the city of Chillán. In a split decision (case file 24045-2015), the Second Chamber of the high court—composed of justices Carlos Künsemüller, Haroldo Brito, Juan Eduardo Fuentes, Lamberto Cisternas, and Jorge Dahm—upheld the appeal for cassation filed against the ruling that had acquitted the uniformed police officer. The high court's ruling establishes that there are well-founded presumptions of Marabolí Orellana's participation in the four kidnappings. The victims were detained in the Población El Tejar in Chillán on November 5, 1973. "That, in the opinion of this Court, the facts or indications useful or suitable to be considered in light of the decisive legal provision in this matter—Article 488 Nos. 1 and 2 (insofar as it requires multiplicity)—are the following: A. At the time the investigated events occurred, Carabineros and Army patrols were constantly going out with the purpose of locating extremists, which is why it was not possible to locate the specific patrol that participated in the detention of the aforementioned individuals. (Report No. 209 of the Investigations Police of Chile, dated January 23, 1974, added to page 6 of the case file). B. The repressive Commission that operated with officials from the Civil Commission of the Second Carabineros Precinct of Chillán, to which Patricio Marabolí Orellana belonged, had the objective of carrying out politically motivated detentions and used green jeeps with greenish-gray canvas covers, which came from the Agricultural and Livestock Service (S.A.G.) of Chillán. (Report No. 186 of the Investigations Police of Chile, dated February 3, 2006, added to page 118 and following). C. Óscar Enrique Fetis Sabelle, Sergio Iván Fetis Valenzuela, and Luis Guillermo Wall Cartes were detained by repressive State agents who, without any justification, raided their home and detained these individuals. These officials were personnel of the Carabineros of Chile who worked in the Civil Commission of the Second Carabineros Precinct, specifically designated for the detention of militants and/or sympathizers of various leftist political parties and people with ideals opposed to the prevailing regime. (Report No. 186 of the Investigations Police of Chile, cited above). D. The existence of the Military Intelligence Service (SIM) at Infantry Regiment No. 9 of Chillán, in which the accused operated as an "attached officer." E. Óscar Fetis Sabelle and Sergio Fetis Valenzuela, residing in Población El Tejar, appeared on a list of persons "to be located," sent by the Commander of the Chillán Regiment to the Prefect of Carabineros of that city. (Document on page 662 and statement by Miguel Eduardo Duque San Martín, pages 1081 and 1082). F. The accused's performance, at the time the events occurred, as an officer in charge of detaining people for political reasons, who were then tortured, using S.A.G. vehicles for the apprehensions. (Statements by José del Carmen Venegas Jara, page 343; Hugo Alberto Apablaza Henríquez, page 365; remarks by Azis Saleh Saleh, in a confrontation added to page 638; statement by Samuel Alonso San Martín Urra, page 746; statement by Luis Humberto Candia Parra, page 740). G. A warning from one of the members of the patrol that carried out the detention, heard by Ms. María Cleria Ramírez Orellana and Ms. Helia Rosa Ramírez Orellana and directed at one of the victims, Tomás Orellana: "Don't act tough, or you'll have to deal with my Lieutenant Marabolí." (Statements on pages 505 and 732). H. Recognition of the accused in a photograph of himself by Ms. Helia Rosa Ramírez Orellana, who states on page 732 regarding this: "Regarding what I am asked if I recognize in the photos shown to me any uniformed officer who appeared on that occasion at my house, when they took my brother, I recognize the one who acted as the boss, who was the youngest, photo added to page 226 of the First Volume." On page 226 (old pagination) is the photograph of Patricio Marabolí Orellana." In the civil aspect, the State of Chile was ordered to pay a total indemnity of $840,000,000 (eight hundred and forty million pesos) to the victims' families.

Source: ubiobio.cl no date