Minister Juan Guzmán Tapia resolved to order the detention of retired Colonel Hans Eduart Schernberger Valdivia, within the framework of the investigation into the deaths of the Barría Basay brothers, which occurred between 1973 and 1976 in the Río Negro area, Tenth Region.

The magistrate made the decision after subjecting the former officer to a lengthy interrogation; he was subsequently transferred to the First Police Station of Viña del Mar, where he remains held incommunicado.

According to the newspaper El Mercurio de Valparaíso, Hans Eduart Schernberger allegedly denied any connection to the case, asserting that during the period in which the events occurred, he held an administrative position in the Río Negro governorate.

Likewise, the retired colonel reportedly stated that he only became aware of the case when the local judge summoned him to testify regarding whether he had any information about the Barría Basay brothers.

Source: La Tercera, May 3, 2002

Six former Carabineros convicted in disappearance case

Special Judge Alejandro Solís handed down sentences ranging from ten to three years in prison to six former Carabineros for their responsibility in the crimes of Río Negro, a case that took place in October 1973.

The resolution establishes that Hans Schernberger, José Hernán Godoy Barrientos, Roberto Teylor, Quintiliano Rogel Alvarado, and Pedro Segundo Soto Godoy must serve ten-year sentences, while José Rómulo Catalán faces a sentence of three years and one day in prison, as a mitigating factor of mental illness was considered in his case.

The resolution also highlights the charges against José Hernán Godoy, as he is the brother of the current deputy director of the Carabineros, Nelson Godoy Barrientos. The former officers were accused of the aggravated kidnapping of brothers Guido and Héctor Barría Basay, both members of the Socialist Party.

The plaintiff's lawyer in the case, Hugo Gutiérrez, stated that the sentence demonstrates that there was an irregular arrest by members of the uniformed police and that it even led to the disappearance of these brothers.

Source: La Nación, May 3, 2004

Supreme Court reduces sentences for former officers

The Second Chamber of the Supreme Court resolved yesterday to confirm the convictions of retired Army Colonel Hugo Cardemil Valenzuela and retired Carabineros Colonel Pablo Caulier Grant as perpetrators of the crime of aggravated kidnapping committed during the dictatorship against 15 forcibly disappeared persons from Parral.

The reduction is due to the high court accepting the principle of "half-prescription" (statute of limitations), reducing Cardemil's sentence from 15 years and one day to 5 years, and Caulier's from 7 years to 4 years.

Furthermore, they were granted the benefit of supervised release. The same chamber acquitted six former Carabineros officers sentenced for the aggravated kidnapping of brothers Guido and Héctor Barría Basay, members of the Socialist Party, which occurred in October 1973.

Those favored by the ruling are Hans Eduart Schernberger Valdivia, José Hernán Godoy Barrientos, Robert Santiago Teylor Escobar, Quintiliano Rogel Alvarado, Pedro Segundo Soto Godoy, and José Rómulo Catalán Oyarzún.

Only in a final ruling did the court resolve to maintain, firm and without modifications, the sentence handed down against Carabineros officer Rubén Osvaldo Barría Igor for the crime of aggravated homicide against 6 young men who were riddled with bullets at the Puente Bulnes in Santiago in October 1973.

In that same ruling, he was sentenced for the crime of attempted homicide against Luis Abraham González Plaza, who survived the execution. The change in criteria within the chamber was due to the fact that there were different compositions of judges for each case.

Source: La Nación, December 28, 2007