… the existence of the crimes of unnecessary violence resulting in the death of Rodrigo Andres Rojas DeNegri and serious injury to Carmen Gloria Quintana Arancibia has been proven, and are punishable under the first and second numerals of Article 330 of the Code of Military Justice; The Military Appeal Court decided to try Lieutenant Pedro Fernandez Dittus for these crimes. 13. The following events, which have affected persons involved in the trial and which were brought to the attention of the Government of Chile by the Commission in due course: a. The arrest of Pedro Martinez Pradenas, witness, on August 22, 1986, on orders from the military prosecutor, when he was summoned by that prosecutor to testify on the 25th of August. Subsequently, this witness was indicted under the Arms Control Law, since the prosecutor felt he had been involved in acts that occurred on the day of the events. b. The abduction, also on August 22, 1986, of Jorge Sanhueza Medina, witness, by unidentified civilians. Jorge Sanhueza Medina was pressured so that he would change his incriminating testimony against the military personnel, but in regard to this situation, the Government limits itself to saying that there has been no denunciation by Mr. Sanhueza in relation to those facts. c. The proceedings filed on September 1, 1986, against the attorney of the family members of the victims, Mr. Hector Salazar, at the First Office of the Military Prosecutor for defamation of the Armed Forces following statements he made to the press at which time he said that with the Military Appeal Court’s verdict “… it has been established that the second version given by the Army does not correspond to reality. I believe that the high command of the Chilean Army owes the courts and the country the truth.”The Commission should note that the Government of Chile never forwarded the basic documents that gave rise to those proceedings before the military justice system and which the Secretariat repeatedly requested. d. The attempted abduction, on September 12, 1986, of the attorney of family members of the victims, Mr. Luis Toro, by a large group of unidentified and heavily armed persons late at night at his place of residence. 14. The decision of the ad hoc examining magistrate of January 29, 1987, amending the assessment of the Military Appeal Court and going back to the characterization of the facts as manslaughter and serious injury. 15. The promotion of Pedro Fernandez Dittus to the rank of captain of the Army. 16. The removal from office of Colonel Rene Muсoz Bruce, Commanding Officer of Regiment No. 10 Libertadores for having been informed of the events that gave rise to the denunciation and hidden that information from his superiors. 17. The secrecy in which the judicial proceedings in progress have been shrouded, with the exception of a brief period at the beginning of January 1987, despite repeated requests by the attorneys of the injured parties to gain access to information concerning the case. 18. Repeated statements by high government officials, including statements made by President Pinochet and his wife, absolving military personnel of responsibility and attributing the events denounced to a national and international conspiracy. 19. The observations made by the complainant concerning the numerous communications from the Government of Chile in this case, and especially, the official statements by that Government during the General Assembly of the Organization of American States in reference to the events that are the subject of Downloaded from worldcourts.com. Use is subject to terms and conditions. See worldcourts.com/terms.htm