Sergio Alfredo Pérez Molina, married, with one child, a leader of the MIR, was detained by agents of the National Intelligence Directorate (DINA) on September 22, 1974, at his own home, located in the southern sector of the capital.

Witnesses to this event were the physician Humberto Eduardo Sotomayor Solís and his wife, Mrs. María Luz García Ferrada, who were accompanying him and who testified to this in case file 90.759 of the 8th Criminal Court. This case was later heard by the Minister for Extraordinary Causes, Mr. Eduardo Araya Rojas, which investigated the death of Lumi Videla Moya, the spouse of the victim.

The apprehension of Sergio Pérez took place during a time of intense persecution against militants of the MIR, the political organization of which he was a leader.

The day before his detention, his wife, Lumi Videla Moya, also a leader of the MIR, was arrested. Her apprehension occurred on a public street, and Marcia Merino ("Flaca Alejandra," a DINA collaborator after having been detained herself) participated in her identification.

She was taken to the DINA-run facility located at José Domingo Cañas, where she was savagely tortured and killed in November 1974. The victim's body was thrown into the Italian Embassy, an attempt to make it appear as though the crime had occurred at that location, which was later dismissed in the judicial investigation.

The victim's autopsy report indicates that the precise cause of death was asphyxiation resulting from an obstruction of the mouth and nose while the body was in a prone position.

The detention of Lumi Videla, the day before that of Sergio Pérez, was known to numerous people who remained detained with both of them at the secret DINA facility located at Avda. José Domingo Cañas, and especially by Mrs.

Rosalía Amparo Martínez Cereceda, a friend of the couple who was also detained there. In a sworn statement dated June 28, 1990, the witness recounts how her friends were detained: "...their detention was on September 21, 1974; she lived with Sergio Pérez in a house on Calle Santa Rosa, near Departamental...

Lumi and Sergio Pérez had a previously established agreement to provide signals regarding the detention of one or the other, and this plan included a time limit for providing information about the house where they both lived.

It happened that Lumi was detained on the 21st, they took her to the torture room, and she recounted that she endured the deadline, which could well have been 24 hours. This meant that if Lumi had not appeared at the points or contacts she had that day for twenty-four hours, that absence would serve to let Sergio know that something had happened and that she had been detained."

The witness to Sergio Pérez's detention, Mrs. María Luz García Ferrada, provides a similar account in the case investigating the death of Lumi Videla, adding details she knew personally: "...I assumed that Lumi Videla Moya had been detained on September 21 because when she met with me and my husband, Humberto Sotomayor, her husband, Sergio Pérez Molina, informed us that she had not arrived home at the agreed time, which was enough to confirm the indicated result; this was confirmed when the next day Sergio attempted to return to his house, accompanied by my husband, while I remained two blocks away. Shots were heard inside a house, and his voice was heard advising us to get away, leaving no doubt then of his apprehension by security service personnel."

For his part, Mr. Humberto Sotomayor Salas also provides an account of this event: "I must point out that on September 21 of the current year, Lumi Videla disappeared from her home located on a street parallel to Gran Avenida that runs between Ingeniero Budge and Berlín, being the first parallel to Gran Avenida toward the mountains; there is a passageway there, and on one of its corners was Lumi's house.

I know this because that day I went to the address around 8:00 PM and her own husband, Sergio Pérez Molina, told me so; he was very worried, as his wife should have returned home at 1:00 PM. Subsequently, Sergio Pérez was detained at his own home before my eyes, this being on September 22 at 9:30 AM."

Both Sergio Pérez Molina and his wife, Lumi Videla Moya, were taken to the José Domingo Cañas facility where—according to witnesses—they were brutally tortured with the specific objective of obtaining information on the whereabouts of the top leader of the MIR, Miguel Enríquez, who was being intensely sought at that time.

Mrs. Rosalía Amparo Martínez Cereceda saw Sergio Pérez at that facility and recounts it in her sworn statement: "In one of the interrogation rooms, they were interrogating a man who turned out to be Sergio Pérez Molina, also called 'el chico Pérez,' whom I knew from before, as I was his friend..." "...the interrogation revolved around several disconnected aspects; the truth is that the captors did not know exactly who the declarant was or to what structure of the MIR she belonged.

What was clear is that some relationship existed with Sergio Pérez Molina." The witness adds that Sergio Pérez was kept in a different room from the other detainees.

It is also known from the statement of Rosalía Martínez that Sergio Pérez Molina was confronted with his own spouse, with her, and with her husband, Julio Laks Feller: "Approximately between September 24 and 25, that is, two or three days after the declarant's detention, the heads of the facility called a meeting attended by: the declarant, her husband Julio Laks Feller, Lumi Videla, and Sergio Pérez, on behalf of the detainees, and two DINA agents, one whom they called 'Abuelo' or 'Mayor.' The objective of that meeting was to learn the name of the liaison with Miguel Enríquez.

All of this took place within a very special atmosphere that was breathed inside the facility and fundamentally in the DINA headquarters there. Everything was revolving at that moment around the perception that they were very close to finding the whereabouts of the top leader of the MIR, Miguel Enríquez; and they were certain that they had dealt a huge blow to that movement with the detention of Sergio Pérez Molina.

The latter, while at that meeting, showed a calamitous physical state resulting from the intense torture and mistreatment he had been subjected to. The DINA heads indicated to the others attending that meeting that it was the duty of these detainees to save the life of 'Chico Pérez,' who, in their words, 'was dying.' In exchange for the name of Enríquez's liaison, they promised to provide proper medical attention to Pérez and thereby save him from death.

The DINA agents even indicated that it was not necessary to answer immediately, that they could reflect on the point. Once the meeting concluded, the detainees were taken to the room where they were originally held.

The declarant was deeply moved by the state of Pérez's health, which was truly grave, just as the DINA agents had indicated, and even more moved by the plea for help that Pérez himself had expressed to her.

It was apparently the next day that Sergio Pérez was virtually thrown into that room; all he did was remain motionless, complaining of his multiple injuries. He had a gunshot wound in one leg that had not been medically treated, he had a ruptured ulcer, and he was vomiting blood at every moment.

He was only kept in that place along with the other detainees, among them his wife Lumi Videla, for the space of an hour. It was undoubtedly a clear act of pressure on them to hurry in some way a decision on what was requested: the name of the liaison with Miguel Enríquez." The declarant adds later in this same document, referring to the victim's situation: "Sergio Pérez continued to be tortured, and his screams could be heard throughout the house.

The declarant places these events 4 to 5 days after her own detention. An important event occurs there: one afternoon, Sergio's screams are heard, and then some running of people through the house expressing 'a doctor, a doctor,' indicating that Pérez was dying, that he was very bad, and that he had to be taken to a hospital.

Lumi Videla asked for permission to go say goodbye to him; they took her out for a brief moment, only enough it seems to see him, and she was again taken back to the detainees' room. Rapid running was heard and a kind of stretcher dragging Sergio Pérez. That would be the last day that Sergio Pérez was seen or heard."

After these events, which according to witness Rosalía Martínez occurred at the José Domingo Cañas facility, another former DINA detainee in January 1975, Mr. Reinaldo Erick Zott Chuecas, relates that during his imprisonment he was treated at a clandestine clinic located at Calle Santa Lucía 162 in Santiago, on a date he places between February 22 and 26 of that year.

Finding himself in that place, he notes: "a guard confided to me that in that same bed—the one I was in—'el Chico Pérez' had died; I do not know the degree of veracity of that comment."

On November 4, 1974, the body of the victim's wife, Lumi Videla, was thrown into the gardens of the Italian Embassy, with the press of the time reporting that her homicide had occurred inside that diplomatic legation during "orgies among those granted asylum." This version was completely discarded in the judicial investigation carried out by Minister Juan Araya, as it was reliably established that the deceased was never in that place as an asylum seeker.

This case was subsequently dismissed due to the impossibility of locating the perpetrators of the crime.

The last public news regarding the victim, Mr. Sergio Pérez Molina, took place in February 1975, when four militants of the Revolutionary Left Movement who were detained were forced to give a press conference broadcast on television and profusely disseminated by the press of the time.

On this occasion, they provided a long list of militants of that movement who were in different situations, mentioning Sergio Pérez Molina as a member of the Political Commission of the MIR and deceased.

Of those four militants who were detained by the DINA at the time, two of them, Hernán Carrasco and Humberto Menanteaux, were subsequently executed by agents of that organization.

To this date, Sergio Pérez Molina remains forcibly disappeared.

JUDICIAL AND/OR ADMINISTRATIVE ACTIONS

On November 3, 1974, Mrs. Luz Moya Díaz, mother of Lumi Videla, filed a writ of amparo (habeas corpus) before the Santiago Court of Appeals, reporting the detention of her daughter and her son-in-law, Sergio Pérez Molina, whom she assumed were detained together. This appeal was filed under case number 1174, and Mr. Eduardo Pérez Avilés, the victim's father, later joined it.

No major results were obtained in this judicial filing because, precisely while it was being processed, Lumi Videla was murdered, which made it pointless to continue with a filing requesting protection.

In March 1979, all the Episcopal Vicars of the Cardinal Archbishop of Santiago made a presentation before the Supreme Court to investigate the situation of 679 people who were forcibly disappeared to date, among whom Sergio Pérez Molina was included. The case of the victim and 8 other people was assigned to the 3rd Criminal Court, which only initiated the case on July 26 of that year.

In this process, which carried case number 130.923, some steps were taken, such as requesting information from the Ministry of the Interior regarding the possible detention of the victims, sending official letters to the International Police, official letters to the Identification Cabinet to find out if they were deceased, and to the Legal Medical Institute for the same purpose.

Regarding Sergio Pérez Molina, none of these steps had any result, and in the trial, it was not even possible to obtain a list of the detainees from that period because the Minister of the Interior, Mr. Sergio Fernández, referred the inquiry to the National Intelligence Center (CNI), which finally reported having destroyed its files for "security reasons."

In the investigation order issued by the Investigative Police, it was noted regarding the victim that he was registered in the Information Department of that agency as a member of the Central Committee and the Political Commission of the MIR.

Likewise, he appeared on a list of most-wanted persons, according to a report from a security agency called CAJSI II D.E. dated July 25, 1974, and on a national list of dangerous individuals. He also had an arrest warrant from the same CAJSI II D.E. dated February 21, 1975, and a ban on entering the country from July 1974.

The case was dismissed on September 23, 1982, by the court of first instance because the crimes were not proven, a resolution that was confirmed by the Court of Appeals on April 7, 1983.

On June 17, 1991, a criminal complaint was filed for kidnapping and homicide in the case of Lumi Videla Moya, spouse of Sergio Pérez Molina. Said case was filed in the 3rd Criminal Court of Santiago under case number 130925.

On November 16, 1992, Osvaldo Romo Mena, one of the agents who participated in the events that ended in the homicide of Lumi Videla, was arrested. The aforementioned agent was located in Brazil as a result of a series of steps ordered by Judge Gloria Olivares of the 3rd Criminal Court of Santiago in the case regarding the disappearance of Alfonso Chanfreau Oyarce.

Romo had resided in that country since late 1975; the DINA had provided him with the means to leave the country because he was being summoned by several courts that were processing cases for human rights violations.

The security agency, among other means, provided him with documents with a false identity for him and his family group. During these 17 years, he used the name Osvaldo Andrés Henríquez Mena. Romo Mena was interrogated in the case for the homicide of Lumi Videla and charged. Regarding these background facts, it was hoped to advance in clarifying the fate of Sergio Pérez Molina.

Source: Corporation report

Chilean authorities, led by Minister Paola Plaza, began the search for Sergio Pérez Molina, detained in 1974 by the DINA, at the Army Non-Commissioned Officers School in Maipú. Pérez Molina, who disappeared after his capture along with his wife Lumi Videla, was a victim of torture at the so-called "Cuartel Ollagüe," where she was murdered.

This investigation is part of the National Search Plan for people forcibly disappeared during the dictatorship.

Since this Monday, within the framework of the National Search Plan, the minister for extraordinary causes for human rights violations of the Santiago Court of Appeals, Paola Plaza, led the search for Sergio Pérez Molina at the Army Non-Commissioned Officers School in Maipú.

The engineer, 31 years old at the time, was detained in September 1974 by DINA agents along with his wife, Lumi Videla Moya.

Case of Lumi Videla

According to the Museum of Memory and Human Rights, on September 21, 1974, the spouses Lumi Videla Moya (26) and Sergio Pérez Molina (31) were detained by agents of the National Intelligence Directorate (DINA). Both were militants of the Revolutionary Left Movement (MIR) and met different fates.

The woman was taken to the José Domingo Cañas facility, which prior to the dictatorship was used as a place for political asylum. After the coup, it was taken over and occupied by the DINA as a torture center and christened "Cuartel Ollagüe."

On November 4 of that year, the lifeless body of Lumi Videla was found on the premises of the Italian Embassy, located at Miguel Claro #1359, Providencia. Future investigations would indicate that she died at José Domingo Cañas during a torture session to which she was subjected a day earlier.

"According to the autopsy report, the precise cause of death was asphyxiation resulting from an obstruction of the mouth and nose while the body was in a prone position," indicates the Museum of Memory.

At the time, the press reported that the militant had been strangled by one of the asylum seekers inside the embassy.

"Our main problem is that the investigation is being carried out from the outside in and not from the inside out as would be normal," indicated the police forces investigating the case.

After the uproar caused by the murder of Lumi Videla, the place used as a torture center became an administrative office for the DINA and later for the CNI. It was thanks to the reconstruction of the events and the multiple testimonies of other political prisoners who were at José Domingo Cañas that the enigma could be solved and the perpetrators convicted.

On July 23, 2007, the judicial resolution of the case sentenced Juan Manuel Guillermo Contreras Sepúlveda, Miguel Krassnoff Martchenko, Marcelo Luís Moren Brito, Francisco Maximiliano Ferrer Lima, and Cristoph Georg Paul Willeke Floel to ten years and one day of major imprisonment in its maximum degree; and Basclay Humberto Zapata Reyes to two sentences of five years and one day of major imprisonment in its maximum degree.

All of the convicted were listed as authors or accomplices in the murder of Lumi Videla.

To this, 200 days of minor imprisonment in its minimum degree were added for Miguel Krassnoff Martchenko, Marcelo Luís Moren Brito, Francisco Maximiliano Ferrer Lima, and Cristoph Georg Paul Willeke Floel.

For his part, a sentence of fifteen years and one day of major imprisonment in its maximum degree was added for Juan Manuel Guillermo Contreras, also as an author of the crime.

Search for Sergio Pérez begins at the Maipú Non-Commissioned Officers School

Sergio Alfredo Pérez Molina also disappeared from Cuartel Ollagüe. The engineer was also allegedly tortured there, although unlike his wife, he would never be found.

"The Commission reached the conviction that Sergio Pérez disappeared due to the action of DINA agents," state the Museum of Memory.

This Monday, within the framework of the National Search Plan, the investigative procedure that seeks to find the whereabouts of Sergio Pérez Molina began with the minister for extraordinary causes for human rights violations of the Santiago Court of Appeals, Paola Plaza, at the facilities of the Army Non-Commissioned Officers School located in Rinconada, Maipú.

The day was attended by family members and friends of the victim, the Human Rights Brigade of the Investigative Police of Chile, the Legal Medical Service, the Ministry of Public Works, and representatives of the Human Rights Program of the Ministry of Justice.

From the Maipú Human Rights Group, among other things, they valued the action and look with hope at this search, which they point to as an opportunity to find comfort for a family that has suffered irreparable damage.

"As an organization that promotes truth, justice, and guarantees of non-repetition, we deeply value this work. It not only constitutes an act of judicial investigation that confirms the crimes committed by State agents, but it also represents an opportunity for a family to find comfort in the face of the irreparable damage caused by forced disappearance," they expressed.

Furthermore, they manifested their commitment and support for the National Search Plan, arguing that there is no democracy that can be sustained in impunity or silence.

"We call on Chilean society and our neighbors in Maipú to support the National Search Plan, to accompany the families who are still searching for their loved ones, and to firmly reject any attempt to deny or justify the human rights violations committed by the dictatorship," they state.

by Alfredo Albornoz

Source: lavozdemaipu.cl, September 5, 2025

Date: 09-05-2025

U. de Chile to award posthumous degrees to 104 executed and disappeared persons

Symbolic recognition will be directed at former students murdered during the military regime.

Through exempt decree number 0030766 of the University of Chile, authorized by the Comptroller General of the Republic on September 4 of this year, said university was enabled, for the first time in its history, to award posthumous and symbolic degrees to students who were political executions victims and those who became forcibly disappeared during the military regime.

The official ceremony, which will be led by Rector Ennio Vivaldi, will take place next Monday the 11th, in the Domeyko courtyard of the central house, starting at 12:30 PM. For Vivaldi, "this initiative has two very deep meanings.

On one hand, it is a gesture of reparation for the victims themselves and for their relatives, who also affectively associate their loved ones with this great institution that is the U. de Chile. On the other hand, the U. de Chile feels that it is fulfilling its moral duty by not granting the dictatorship the terrible objective of, in addition to having cut their lives short, erasing their achievements as students and future professionals for Chile."

The list includes 104 former students of the university who were murdered by State agents between 1973 and 1989.

Among the most remembered cases is that of history student Jécar Nehgme, who also appears as the last victim of the Augusto Pinochet regime. This former leader of the Revolutionary Left Movement (MIR) appeared dead on September 4, 1989, on Calle General Bulnes, a few days before the elections that would mark the return to democracy.

After a long judicial process, which was resolved in 2008, it was established that the perpetrators of the murder were the metropolitan head of the CNI, Brigadier (ret.) Enrique Levy Araneda; Colonel (ret.) Pedro Guzmán Olivares; and Captain (ret.) Luis Sanhueza Ross.

Social organizations valued the gesture. The president of the Association of Relatives of Executed Political Prisoners (AFEP), Alicia Lira, pointed out that "it is a great gesture, which we recognize enormously.

With this, Rector Vivaldi fulfills a pending task that the University of Chile had, since similar gestures had already been fulfilled by other universities such as the U. de Santiago and the Austral de Valdivia. But it is a huge signal for democracy and for a true 'never again' to be fulfilled in Chile."

List of University of Chile students who were victims of the civil-military dictatorship:

1. Almonacid Dumenez, Luis Jorge. Social Work student. Forcibly disappeared. 2. Aldoney Vargas, Jaime. Journalism student. Political execution. 3. Andreoli Bravo, María Angélica. Nutrition and Dietetics student.

Forcibly disappeared. 4. Aranda Schmied, Pablo Ramón. Medicine student. Forcibly disappeared. 5. Araneda Pizzini, Dignaldo Herminio. Economics student. Forcibly disappeared. 6. Arredondo Andrade, Gabriela Edelweiss.

Pedagogy student. Forcibly disappeared. 7. Avello Avello, Oscar Eduardo. Medicine student. Forcibly disappeared. 8. Barrios Duque, Álvaro Miguel. English Pedagogy student. Forcibly disappeared. 9. Beltrán Sánchez, María Isabel.

Music Pedagogy student. Forcibly disappeared. 10. Binfa Contreras, Jacquelina del Carmen. Social Work student. Forcibly disappeared. 11. Boettiger Vera, Octavio Julio. Graduate of the School of Political and Administrative Sciences.

Forcibly disappeared. 12. Boncompte Andreu, Juan José. Economics student. Political execution. 13. Bustillos Cereceda, María Teresa. Social Work student. Forcibly disappeared. 14. Caldes Contreras, Jaime Humberto.

Political Science student. Political execution. 15. Castro Salvadores, Cecilia Gabriela. Law student. Forcibly disappeared. 16. Chanfreau Oyarce, Alfonso René. Philosophy student. Forcibly disappeared. 17.

Cid Urrutia, Washington. Sociology student. Forcibly disappeared. 18. Cornejo Campos, Raúl Guillermo. Psychology student. Forcibly disappeared. 19. Cortés Castro, Bernardo del Tránsito. Pedagogy student.

Political execution. 20. Cuevas Moya, Carlos Alberto. Geology student. Political execution. 21. De la Jara Goyeneche, Felix Santiago. History Pedagogy student. Forcibly disappeared. 22. Díaz Darricarrere, Carmen Margarita.

Nursing student. Forcibly disappeared. 23. Donoso Palacios, Sara de Lourdes. Nursing student. Forcibly disappeared. 24. D'Orival Briceño, Jorge Humberto. Graduate of Veterinary Medicine. Forcibly disappeared. 25.

Drouilly Yurich, Jacqueline Paulette. Social Work and Theater student. Forcibly disappeared. 26. Duran Rivas, Luis Eduardo. Journalism student. Forcibly disappeared. 27. Elgueta Diaz, Luis Enrique. Music Pedagogy student.

Forcibly disappeared. 28. Elgueta Pinto, Martín. Economics student. Forcibly disappeared. 29. Escobar Salinas, Ruth María. Dance student. Forcibly disappeared. 30. Espinoza Henríquez, Mamerto Eulogio. Former Technical Drawing student.

Forcibly disappeared. 31. Espinosa Méndez, Jorge Enrique. Philosophy student. Forcibly disappeared. 32. Figueras Ubach, Félix Francisco. History, Geography, and Civic Education student at the Pedagogical Institute.

Political execution. 33. Flores Garrido, José Edilio. Public Administration student. Political execution. 34. Flores Ponce, Sergio Arturo. Philosophy student. Forcibly disappeared. 35. Fuentes Riquelme, Luis Fernando.

Biology student. Forcibly disappeared. 36. Gajardo Wolff, Carlos Alfredo. Architecture graduate. Forcibly disappeared. 37. García Vega, Alfredo Gabriel. Social Work graduate. Forcibly disappeared. 38. Guajardo Zamorano, Luis Julio.

Engineering student. Forcibly disappeared. 39. Guendelman Wisniak, Luis Alberto. Architecture graduate. Forcibly disappeared. 40. Guerrero Gutiérrez, Carlos Eduardo. History Pedagogy student. Forcibly disappeared. 41.

Herrera Manríquez, Guillermo Hernán. Social Sciences student. Political execution. 42. Ibarra Echeverria, Carlos Leonardo. Pedagogy student. Political execution. 43. Ibarra Toledo, Juan Ernesto. Social Work student.

Forcibly disappeared. 44. Jorquera Encina, Mauricio Edmundo. Sociology student. Forcibly disappeared. 45. Joui Petersen, María Isabel. Economics student. Forcibly disappeared. 46. Juantock Guzmán, Yactong Orlando.

Architecture graduate. Forcibly disappeared. 47. Lagos Salinas, Carlos Eduardo. Pedagogy student. Political execution. 48. Lazo Rojas, Alonso. Spanish Pedagogy student. Forcibly disappeared.

Source: latercera.cl, September 8, 2017

Date: 09-08-2017

DINA leadership receives harsh sentence for murder of MIR militant

The Supreme Court imposed a 15-year prison sentence for General (ret.) Manuel Contreras. This is for the qualified kidnapping of Sergio Pérez Molina and the qualified homicide of Lumi Videla.

The criminal chamber of the Supreme Court sentenced the leadership of the DINA, headed by General (ret.) Manuel Contreras, for the qualified kidnapping of Sergio Pérez Molina and the qualified homicide of Lumi Videla Moya, events that occurred in 1974.

In a split decision, the former head of the secret police of the late dictator Augusto Pinochet received 15 years and one day in prison, without benefits, for both crimes, as did Brigadier (ret.) Miguel Krassnoff.

For their part, Brigadiers (ret.) Cristoph Willike, Francisco Ferrer, and Marcelo Morén Brito were sentenced to 10 years and one day for their responsibility in the homicide of Videla.

At the same time, former agent Basclay Zapata Reyes received five years in prison as an accomplice to the murder of the MIR militant, and Carabineros Colonel (ret.) Ciro Torré was sentenced to five years in prison for the kidnapping of Sergio Pérez Molina, with the benefit of supervised release.

On November 4, 1974, the body of Lumi Videla was found in a garden of the Italian Embassy in Providencia. The press of the time reported that her death occurred after participating in an orgy with the other asylum seekers at the diplomatic headquarters.

Source: COOPERATIVA.CL - September 8, 2009

Date: 09-08-2009

Manuel Contreras adds two new convictions in human rights case

The imprisoned former repressor was sentenced to 5 years and one day in prison for the kidnapping of Sergio Pérez Molina and 10 years and one day as an author for the homicide of Lumi Videla Moya.

Two new convictions were added this Friday for the former head of the dissolved National Intelligence Directorate (DINA), retired General Manuel Contreras, after the Santiago Court of Appeals issued a second-instance sentence in the process for the qualified kidnapping of Sergio Pérez Molina, which occurred starting on September 22, 1974, and the qualified homicide of Lumi Videla Moya, recorded on November 3 of that same year.

The imprisoned former repressor was sentenced to 5 years and one day in prison for the kidnapping of Pérez Molina and 10 years and one day as an author for the homicide of Videla Moya.

In a split decision (in case file 5157-2007), the Eighth Chamber of the capital's appellate court—composed of ministers Cornelio Villarroel, Mario Carroza, and the member lawyer Carlos López—ratified most of the convictions issued by the minister for extraordinary causes, Alejandro Solís Muñoz, against 7 former members of the National Intelligence Directorate (DINA).

However, it modified the length of the sentences applied by the first-instance magistrate.

The second-instance ruling establishes the following sanctions:

Ciro Torré Saéz: acquitted due to lack of participation. Manuel Contreras Sepúlveda: 5 years and one day in prison for the kidnapping of Pérez Molina and 10 years and one day for the homicide of Videla Moya (author).

Miguel Krassnoff Martchentko: 5 years and one day for the kidnapping of Pérez Molina and 10 years and one day for the homicide of Videla Moya (author). Cristoph Willike Floel: 10 years and one day for the homicide of Videla Moya (author).

Francisco Ferrer Lima: 10 years and one day for the homicide of Videla Moya (author). Marcelo Moren Brito: 10 years and one day for the homicide of Videla Moya (author). Basclay Zapata Reyes: 5 years and one day for his participation as an accomplice in the homicide of Lumi Videla Moya.

In the civil aspect, the lawsuit that had sentenced Krassnoff Martchenko, Willike Floel, and Ferrer Lima to pay compensation of $50,000,000 (fifty million pesos) to each plaintiff—Lautaro Videla Moya and Eduardo Pérez Molina—was rejected.

The decision regarding the convictions was adopted with the dissenting vote of Minister Cornelio Villarroel, who was in favor of acquitting all those sentenced, applying Decree Law No. 2191 of 1978, known as the Amnesty Law.

Meanwhile, member lawyer López spoke out against the decision that acquitted Ciro Torré and the rejection of the civil lawsuit.

In the first instance, on July 23, 2007, Minister Alejandro Solís Muñoz had established the following convictions: Manuel Contreras Sepúlveda: 10 years and one day for the kidnapping of Sergio Pérez and 15 years and one day for the homicide of Lumi Videla.

Miguel Krassnoff Martchenko: 5 years and one day for the kidnapping of Sergio Pérez and 10 years and one day for the homicide of Lumi Videla. Ciro Torré Saez, Cristoph Willike Floel, Francisco Ferrer Lima, and Marcelo Moren Brito: 10 years and one day for the homicide of Lumi Videla Moya. Basclay Zapata Reyes: 5 years and one day as an accomplice to the homicide of Lumi Videla Moya.

This is the fifteenth sentence of the Santiago Court of Appeals in 2008 in a human rights case, and the 56th since 2004.

On November 3, 1974, Lumi Videla died in a torture session to which she was being subjected at the José Domingo Cañas facility. According to the autopsy report, the precise cause of death was asphyxiation resulting from an obstruction of the mouth and nose while the body was in a prone position. Her husband, Sergio Pérez, disappeared from that same facility.

On November 4, 1974, the body of Lumi Videla was found on the inside of a wall in the garden of the Italian Embassy, in the commune of Providencia. The press of the time reported that she had been a victim of the asylum seekers who were in the embassy, in the context of an orgy. The embassy, for its part, denied that Lumi Videla had been an asylum seeker in the facility.

Source: EL MOSTRADOR - November 14, 2008

Date: 11-14-2008

Manuel Contreras sentenced to 25 years in prison

For the crime of Lumi Videla, the DINA leadership was convicted in a first-instance ruling that involves, in addition to Contreras, Miguel Krassnoff, Cristoph Willike, Marcelo Moren Brito, among others.

Two magistrates issued separate sentences in well-known human rights cases, sentences that complicate the DINA leadership again, and with special force the leader of the repressive organization, General (ret.) Manuel Contreras.

On one hand, Minister Alejandro Solís issued a sentence in the case for the homicide of Lumi Videla Moya and the qualified kidnapping of her husband, Sergio Pérez Molina, events that occurred on November 3, 1974, and September 22, 1974, respectively.

In the ruling, he sentences General (ret.) Manuel Contreras to ten years and one day of major imprisonment in its medium degree as the author of the crime of qualified kidnapping of Sergio Pérez. He also sanctions Miguel Krassnoff for the same offense, but in this case, the sentence is five years and one day of major imprisonment in its minimum degree, a case that is repeated for Ciro Ernesto Torré Sáez.

In the crime of Lumi Videla, the sanction for "Mamo" Contreras reaches fifteen years and one day of major imprisonment in its maximum degree. For Krassnoff Martchenko, ten years and one day of major imprisonment in its maximum degree, and Cristoph Georg Paul Willeke Floel, Francisco Maximiliano Ferrer Lima, and Marcelo Luis Moren Brito will serve the same sanction.

Meanwhile, Basclay Humberto Zapata Reyes receives a sanction of five years and one day of major imprisonment in its maximum degree.

Source: lanacion.cl, July 24, 2007

Date: 07-24-2007