On September 16, 1973, Osvaldo Alfonso TORRES ALBORNOZ, 24 years old, a merchant, was forcibly disappeared after being detained at his home in the Población Roosevelt.

His captors were members of the Carabineros from the local station in that neighborhood; his family presumes he was taken to that station. Since that moment, his fate and whereabouts remain unknown, despite the efforts made by his family.

Upon consulting state agencies, it was confirmed that he has not left the country, nor did he register on the Electoral Roll, nor has he requested a new identity card.

Having verified his detention, it is the conviction of this Commission that Osvaldo Torres Albornoz was forcibly disappeared by State agents who violated his human rights.

Osvaldo Alfonso Torres Albornoz, single, merchant, with no known political affiliation, was detained at his home in the Población Roosevelt in Santiago on September 16, 1973, at 01:30 in the morning by 7 Carabineros from the precinct of said neighborhood.

The detention followed a report made by his partner, Silvia Tapia Frez, regarding an incident the previous day in which Osvaldo Torres had allegedly beaten her and their minor children.

The morning after the detention, the victim's mother, Mrs. Teresa Hilda Albornoz Muñoz, went to the Roosevelt precinct, where she was told that the victim had not been apprehended nor brought to that location.

His name did not appear in the detention log, and no police officer admitted to knowing anything about the events, despite the fact that the detention had been carried out hours earlier in front of the disappeared man's partner and children.

Lieutenant Guillermo Quijada Tamayo, in charge of the police unit at the time of the detention, also denied having any information regarding the victim's situation or that he had been taken to the precinct at any time.

The partner of the disappeared man would later declare that Carabineros from the aforementioned unit (whom she did not identify) had told her that he was sent to the Estadio Nacional a few hours after his arrest.

However, there is no record of him having been admitted to that facility, which was used as a prison camp following the military coup of September 11, 1973, nor is there any testimony to that effect.

Nothing more was ever learned about the whereabouts of Osvaldo Torres. His relatives, especially his mother, initiated various administrative efforts to find him, but some time later, they refused to pursue any further legal action on his behalf.

The disappeared man had a criminal record for common crimes, having been arrested several times for robbery, and at the time of the aforementioned events, he had an outstanding arrest warrant for homicide.

JUDICIAL AND/OR ADMINISTRATIVE ACTIONS

On November 3, 1978, the Episcopal Vicars presented a petition to the Supreme Court requesting that the Court appoint investigating judges (Ministros en Visita) to oversee the investigation of disappeared persons.

This request was granted, and on July 26, 1979, the respective proceedings for the disappearance of 9 people, including Osvaldo Torres Albornoz, were initiated before the Third Criminal Court of Santiago, case file 130.923.

Reports were requested from the Carabineros, the Investigative Police, the Legal Medical Institute, the Ministry of the Interior, the Civil Registry, and other agencies, all of which were negative regarding the victim's whereabouts.

The case was pursued ex officio after the victim's relatives refused to file any legal action on his behalf, and it was subsequently dismissed in accordance with Article 499 No. 1 of the Code of Criminal Procedure.

The relatives made various inquiries regarding the victim's whereabouts at police stations, hospitals, morgues, and prisons, without positive results.

The anthropometric records of Osvaldo Alfonso Torres Albornoz were attached to case 4449-AF of the 22nd Criminal Court of Santiago regarding the crime of illegal burial in Patio 29 of the General Cemetery of unidentified persons who died between September and December 1973.

The investigating judge of the case ordered the excavation of 108 graves in September 1991. 125 bodies were exhumed and sent to the Legal Medical Institute. At present (late 1992), the expert identification reports are pending.

Source: Corporation report