Pinochet Spy Chief Denied Amnesty

[NATO AIR]

aww, my heart breaks for this motherf*****, i mean "statesman", who along with his boss tortured, raped and murdered tens of thousands of chilean political opponents during his heyday in the cold war. so sad that the tide of justice is beginning to drag him down from his perch of unaccountability.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4021341.stm

Pinochet spy chief denied amnesty

Contreras was a confidant of Augusto Pinochet after the coup
Chile's Supreme Court has upheld the jail sentence handed to Gen Augusto Pinochet's ex-chief of secret police, for the disappearance of a dissident.
In a landmark ruling, it said abduction cases where the victim or remains are not found are not covered by an amnesty law issued by Gen Pinochet.

The court also upheld the convictions of five former aides to Manuel Contreras over the 1975 disappearance.

Human rights groups said the move was a "great victory" for accountability.

"Today's ruling gives full backing to efforts by the lower courts to hold accountable those responsible for grave human rights violations under military rule," said Jose Miguel Vivanco of Human Rights Watch.

"It is a great victory for the victims' families and their lawyers, who have battled for years to bring this about."

Previous conviction

Miguel Angel Sandoval, a member of the Movement of the Revolutionary Left, vanished after he was arrested by secret police agents in January 1975.

His body has never been found.

However, the Supreme Court reduced Contreras' prison sentence from 15 to 12 years, for masterminding the disappearance.


Human rights groups say Pinochet's regime killed thousands
Correspondents say Wednesday's decision sets a precedent for many other unresolved disappearances that took place under Gen Pinochet's campaign against dissidents.

Thousands of supporters of the previous government were killed, tortured or forced into exile during his 1973-1990 military rule.

In 1978, Gen Pinochet issued an amnesty that covered human rights crimes committed during the first five years of his regime.

Contreras' lawyer said he should have been granted amnesty.

The founder of Gen Pinochet's much-feared secret police had already been convicted and served seven years for the killing of a former Chilean foreign minister.

Contreras set up the unit that played a key role in the early years of repression of the military government.

 

[waltky]

Pinochet code of silence unraveling in Chile...

Pinochet dictatorship pacts of silence unraveling in Chile
Dec 30,`15 -- One former Chilean soldier said he shot 10 people in the head and then blew up their bodies with dynamite. Another said his platoon drenched two teens with gasoline and set them on fire.

Both confessions made publicly this year have shocked Chileans with details of crimes committed during the Andean nation's bloody 1973-1990 dictatorship. Human rights groups and families of victims believe they are a clear sign military pacts of silence that have hushed up many of the atrocities committed during the rule of Gen. Augusto Pinochet may finally be unraveling. "Criminals can't take the guilt any longer," said Veronica de Negri, whose 19-year-old son, Rodrigo Rojas, was burned to death at a 1986 protest against Pinochet. "They're going to continue coming out. It's a domino effect. More and more will talk."

For nearly three decades, many perpetrators enjoyed impunity. But after a former soldier testified this year about Rojas' killing, in July a judge charged seven ex-soldiers with the attack, which also severely burned another teen, Carmen Quintana. U.S. documents published this year indicated Pinochet covered up the military's role in the slaying of Rojas, who was a U.S. resident visiting his native Chile. The case drew worldwide condemnation and strained the regime's relationship with Washington. The latest confession came early in December and took Chileans by surprise: It happened during a radio show that usually focuses on personal anecdotes, some humorous, some serious.

General Augusto Pinochet is seen in Santiago, Chile. Human rights groups and families of victims believe that military pacts of silence that hushed up many of the atrocities committed during the rule of Gen. Pinochet may finally be unraveling​

Using the name "Alberto," the caller first said he wanted to share a love story. He then launched into a much darker tale. He said he was an army veteran and recounted taking several people to the desert, shooting them in the head and blowing up the bodies. "Not even their shadow was left," said the man, who expressed regret about killing at least 18 people in various incidents. Days after the 25-minute call, the man, identified as Guillermo Reyes Rammsy, was arrested. A judge ordered him held under house arrest while the case is investigated. Attempts to reach Rammsy were not successful. "These people carry feelings of guilt," said Giorgio Agostini, a forensic psychologist. "Speaking about it, in this case publicly, gives them some sort of release."

At least 3,095 people were killed during Pinochet's dictatorship, according to government figures, and tens of thousands more were tortured or jailed for political reasons. Pinochet died in 2006 under house arrest without being tried on charges of illegal enrichment and human rights violations. Retired Gen. Guillermo Garin, who was the army's second-in-command under Pinochet, says the number of victims has been exaggerated. He also denies the existence of any pacts of silence. "I was very close to General Pinochet," Garin told the AP. "The president was busy governing the country and was not involved in anti-subversive fights or combatting clandestine organizations." But ample evidence points to Pinochet's involvement and to his orders for cover-ups.

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