The Supreme Court of Chile has handed down a final sentence for the kidnapping and murder of singer and political activist Víctor Jarawhich took place in September 1973 during the coup d’état by Augusto Pinochet, and has confirmed the conviction of 25 years in jail against seven ex-servicemen.
The Second Chamber of the Court has indicated this Monday in a unanimous ruling that the convicted (now retired) are responsible for the crimes of kidnapping and qualified homicide of the singer-songwriter and prison director Littré Quiroga Carvajal.
Two weeks after the commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the coup d’état, the Supreme Court has thus ratified the appealed ruling of the Santiago Court of Appeals, ruling out any errors in the sentenceaccording to a press release from the judicial body.
The Supreme Court rules out any error in the sentence
The convicted are Raúl Jofré González, Edwin Dimter Bianchi, Nelson Haase Mazzei, Ernesto Bethke Wulf, Juan Jara Quintana and Hernán Chacón Soto, who must comply 15 years and one day in prison as perpetrators of the homicides, and ten years and one day for the kidnappings.
Besides, Rolando Melo Silva must comply five years and one day for having covered up the homicides, and three years and one day for having covered up the kidnappings.
On the other hand, the Public Treasury must pay each of the plaintiffs, spouse and children of Quiroga Carvajal 150 million Chilean pesos (just over 160,000 euros), while he has to compensate his brothers with 80 million pesos (86,400 euros). He must also pay 150 million pesos to Jara’s widow and children.
During the coup led by General Pinochet against President Salvador Allende, on September 11, Jara was arrested along with other teachers and students and transferred to the Chile Stadium (which currently bears his name). there it was tortured for hours and finally it was riddled with bullets.
In 2016, a United States court found Chilean ex-military officer Pedro Barrientos guilty of torture and extrajudicial execution of the artist, as a result of a civil lawsuit filed by his family, forcing him to pay compensation for damages.
