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The Second Chamber of the Court of Appeals of San Miguel issued a second instance ruling in the trial of the kidnappings and homicides of professors Hugolino Arias Navarrete, Víctor Galvez Norambuena and Nelson Medina Letelier, an event that occurred on October 1, 1973. in the town of Linderos, commune of Buin.
Ministers María Carolina Catepillan and Liliana Mera San Miguel, and Minister Patricio Martínez Benavides. They confirmed the first instance sentence and sentenced the former Army officer of the San Bernardo Infantry School, Jorge Romero Campos, to 15 years and one day in prison in the maximum degree of his as the author of the crimes qualified homicide of the three professionals. ; and three years and one day of minor imprisonment in the maximum degree of him as the author of the crimes of simple kidnapping, in a consummated degree.
In an attached resolution, the Court partially and definitively dismissed the case due to insanity against former Army officer Alfonso Faúndez Norambuena, who had been sentenced in the first instance to 15 years and one day, and 3 years and one day for the same crimes.
Faúndez Norambuena, former DINA agent, was head of Intelligence Section II of the San Bernardo Infantry School and, later, joined the DINA, becoming one of the heads of the Purén Brigade, the entity responsible for the disappearance of a significant number of people.
In addition, the ruling approved the dismissals for the death of the soldiers Osvaldo Andrés Alonso Magaña Bau, Leonel Walterio Konig Altermatt, Pedro Eduardo Gustavo Montalba, Calvo Víctor Raúl Pinto Pérez and Héctor Ubilla Castillo, all members of the San Bernardo Infantry School and investigated in these facts.
The complainant described said sentence as irregular and announced that they will present an appeal in the coming days: “On the criminal side we are concerned about the dismissal of Alfonso Faúndez Norambuena, and we are going to ensure that this is reviewed through appeals in the form and ultimately before the Supreme Court. There are proceedings that are omitted by one party and in this aspect as plaintiffs we want to exhaust any possibility of doubt, since a poorly granted dismissal means impunity; and sadly, there have been “errors” in determining the health of others accused of crimes against humanity – thinking of Augusto Pinochet and Sergio Arellano Stark, to name a few,” said lawyer Francisco Bustos, from Estudio Caucoto Abogados.
Likewise, he reported that they will present another appeal on the civil side, since in his opinion “the court reduced the compensation without taking into account the damage caused, the irreparable damage that was caused to these three families and without providing sufficient arguments for such determination”.
Bustos recalled that this case began to be heard in the Court of San Miguel just at a time when it was 50 years since the crime of the three professors, which shows that “this sentence, which presents objections that could mean impunity, shows us that Unfortunately there is still one more stretch to discuss and there is some time left, much less, but there is still time left for these families who have waited so long.”
Hugolino Arias Navarrete (35), Víctor Omar Gálvez Norambuena (21) and Nelson Medina Letelier (23) were arrested on October 1, 1973, once classes resumed after the military coup. Their arrest was carried out by Carabineros personnel from the Buin police station, who led the procedure in the school where the teachers worked, in the Linderos area, transferring them to said premises, from where they were removed by soldiers from the Infantry School of Saint Bernard.
Later, they were transferred to the Cerro Chena prisoner camp, where they were tortured and executed the next day.
According to the autopsy, their bodies had multiple gunshot wounds to the chest and heads, while only the remains of Hugolino Arias and Víctor Gálvez were exhumed, proving their identities.
