Historic Ruling: Chilean Government Ordered to Compensate $279 Million to Torture Survivors from Dictatorship

Original article: Choques eléctricos y simulacros de fusilamiento: tribunal condena al fisco a pagar $279 millones a 15 sobrevivientes de torturas en dictadura

The Tenth Civil Court of Santiago has delivered a landmark ruling, ordering the Chilean government to pay a total of $279 million in compensation to victims of illegal detentions and torture inflicted by state agents in various municipalities of the Valparaíso Region in the months following the September 11, 1973 coup that marked the beginning of the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet.

In the ruling, issued by Judge Karina Portugal Cuevas, the court accepted the claim for compensation for moral damages presented on behalf of the direct victims, which the court explicitly categorized as crimes against humanity. The claim made on behalf of family members seeking reflective or consequential damages was rejected.

The 20-page ruling vividly details the torturous experiences endured by each of the 15 individuals, identified as D.A.M., J.A.A., V.M.C.O., L.H.C.E., G.S.F.M., G.S.O.A., P.D.C.P., B.D.T.Q.G., M.R.O., M.S.R.C., R.P.S.G., F.E.T.T., H.R.T.V., C.V.P., and B.D.C.Q.G.

Details of Systemic Torture

The court’s factual narrative describes a pattern of violence primarily perpetrated by Carabineros (Chilean national police) and military personnel in facilities such as the Cabildo Police Station, La Ligua Police Post, San Felipe Prison, and the Engineers’ Regiment in Quillota, among others.

Documented methods of torture that were substantiated include: application of electric shocks to the whole body, including genitals and other sensitive areas; mock executions and death threats with firearms; systematic beatings using fists, kicks, sticks, gun butts, and rubber batons.

Additional methods included a form of torture known as «the telephone,» involving simultaneous slapping of both ears; deprivation of food and water, and forced consumption of urine; being required to run or jog barefoot over sharp stones, rocks, or cactus needles, causing bleeding wounds; overcrowding in cells; and threats with vehicles, making victims believe they would be run over, among others.

Permanent Consequences and Basis for the Ruling

Judge Portugal justified the amount of individual compensations—ranging from $10 million to $30 million—based on «the intrinsic gravity of the events» and the «permanent consequences» that significantly and continuously affect the victims’ lives.

In most cases, the court took into account forensic reports from the Legal Medical Service or from the Comprehensive Health Care and Repair Program (PRAIS), which diagnosed chronic Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) as a direct result of the torture. The ruling indicates that this condition, in many cases, has been «exacerbated by years of impunity.»

The judge firmly established the state’s responsibility. In her conclusions, she stated that «it is evident that, among the behaviors adopted by the state agents, which as previously established constitute crimes against humanity that violated the human rights of the plaintiffs and the damages suffered by them, […] there is such a causal relationship that without the defendant’s actions, the damages in question would not have occurred.»

Torture and Compensation

The ruling specifies the individual suffering of the 15 victims and the amounts of compensation:

1.- Regarding the plaintiff D.A.M., it was established that he was detained on September 15, 1973, at the age of 33, while at his job in Cabildo, by Carabineros personnel. During his detention, he endured beatings with fists, kicks, and gun butts, as well as torture that included electric shocks to his entire body, ending his detention on September 19, 1973.

Considering these facts and the psychological damage reflected in the psychological report from the Legal Medical Service, indicating a diagnosis of PTSD, this court assesses the moral damage suffered by this plaintiff at $25,000,000 (twenty-five million pesos).

2.- With respect to the plaintiff J.A.A., it is established by the evidence that he was detained on September 17, 1973, at the age of 41, at his workplace. He was confined in a storage room where he was tied up and beaten with sticks, clubs, and fists. He was also threatened with execution and held at the Cabildo police station, where he was further tortured, before being transferred to San Felipe prison, where he was finally released on September 22, 1973.

Based on the established facts and the ongoing damages suffered by Mr. J.A.A., as reported in Legal Medical Service report No. 2159-2018, this court assesses the damages suffered by the plaintiff at $20,000,000 (twenty million pesos).

3.- As for plaintiff V.M.C.O., although it is not possible to establish when he was detained, it is established that he was detained for at least 8 days in Petorca and for 3 years in San Felipe, where he suffered torture, including beatings and electric shocks, with the torture known as ‘the telephone’ multiple times, and was forced to walk barefoot on sharp material.

Regarding the sequelae resulting from these events, despite the absence of a psychological report, the report from the Legal Medical Service indicates that some of his current physical symptoms are consistent with the experiences he described. Taking this into account, this court determines his compensation amount to be $20,000,000 (twenty million pesos).

4.- Concerning the plaintiff L.H.C.E., evidence shows that he was detained in the second week of October 1973 at the age of 33, inside his home by Carabineros in Cabildo. He was treated with extreme violence, beaten into unconsciousness, and threatened with death at gunpoint. He was transferred to Petorca, where he remained for about three weeks and was freed in November 1973.

The psychological report from PRAIS of the La Ligua Hospital indicates that this plaintiff suffers from PTSD, which has been aggravated by years of impunity. This leads the court to value the damages suffered by L.H.C.E. at $20,000,000 (twenty million pesos).

5.- Regarding the plaintiff G.S.F.M., who was detained on September 17, 1973, at the age of 32 at his job in Los Molinos by armed Carabineros, he was locked in a storage room and beaten with hands and fists. He was transferred to the La Ligua Police Post where he was again beaten, this time with fists, kicks, and gun butts. Later, he was taken to San Felipe, where he was deprived of food and held in a cramped cell before being released on September 22, 1973.

Although the only report available concerning him does not specify physical or psychological sequelae, this court takes into account that the plaintiff was illegally detained and mistreated, which leads to the valuation of this claim at $10,000,000 (ten million pesos).

6.- Regarding the plaintiff G.S.O.A., he was detained at his workplace in the Dulcinea mine in September 1973 at the age of 31 due to political reasons, being a member of the Socialist Party at the time. He was taken to the Petorca Police Station, where he was beaten with clubs, subjected to verbal abuse, and forced to jog barefoot until exhaustion. He was only given dirty water and endured electric shocks to his intimate areas and the torture known as ‘the telephone’. He was detained for 17 days.

Concerning the psychological consequences of the events experienced by Mr. G.S.O.A., the PRAIS report from San Martin Hospital in Quillota states that he developed generalized anxiety disorder and PTSD. These circumstances lead to a compensation amount of $20,000,000 (twenty million pesos).

7.- Regarding the plaintiff P.D.C.P., he was detained on September 11, 1973, at the age of 26 while working at ENAMI, by a patrol from the Cabildo Police Station, where he was tied up with barbed wire. He was later transferred to a Carabineros unit in La Ligua, where he suffered torture, kicks, blows, forced consumption of urine, mock executions, and was deprived of food. After that, he was transferred to San Felipe, where he was held from September 1973 to February 1974, during which time he was subjected to two mock executions and repeated beatings.

After leaving Chile, he went to Argentina, where he was detained again in 1975 and returned to Chile. Years later, between 1983 and 1984, he helped organize the Manuel Rodríguez Patriotic Front and was sought after, leading him to emigrate again, this time to France, returning to Chile before the 1989 plebiscite, where he was arrested for a few days before being released that same year. According to the report from the Legal Medical Service, Mr. P.D.C.P. still suffers from PTSD caused by these events, which leads this court to set the compensation amount at $30,000,000 (thirty million pesos).

8.- Concerning the plaintiff B.T.Q.G., evidence shows that he was detained on October 14, 1973, when he inquired about his brother, who had been detained hours earlier, at the Petorca Police Station, where he remained for about 20 days, undergoing various tortures and maltreatment, such as being forced to run barefoot on a field of sharp rocks, causing his feet to bleed. He was also beaten all over his body with rubber batons and subjected to electric shocks to his entire body, including genitals. He endured overcrowding conditions and was deprived of food.

He was also taken with one of his brothers to the Coraceros Regiment in Viña del Mar, where he was tortured with electricity, beaten, and tied up, remaining there for three days before being taken back to La Ligua Police Station, where he continued to be beaten, sometimes losing consciousness. He was later transferred to San Felipe prison, where he was reinterrogated and incarcerated for two years for being convicted of being the author of the crime under article four of Law No. 12,927.

As a result of these events, this plaintiff suffered significant physical and psychological consequences, showing significant symptoms consistent with PTSD. All these circumstances are taken into account by this court when determining the compensation amount, which is set at $20,000,000 (twenty million pesos).

9.- Regarding the plaintiff M.R.O., according to the evidence presented, he was detained while heading to work at ENAMI by Carabineros and civilians, who took him to the Cabildo Police Station. He was left tied up and taken to the stables, where he was beaten with a stick until he lost consciousness. He was also tortured with electric shocks on his belly and testicles for ten days. At one point, dirt was thrown in his eyes.

As for the sequelae caused by these events, beyond the obvious physical injuries that have faded over the years, psychologically he still maintains PTSD, circumstances valued by this court in determining the compensation amount of $20,000,000 (twenty million pesos).

10.- With respect to the plaintiff M.S.R.C., he was detained on September 11, 1973, in Chincolco, subjected to punches, kicks, and blows with sticks, being jumped on. He was also thrown onto a cactus and tortured with electricity. Afterward, he was taken to San Felipe, where he was further tortured, losing a tooth, suffering a retinal detachment, and being deprived of water and food in overcrowded conditions. He was held in custody from September 16, 1973, to May 5, 1977, for violating Laws No. 12,927 and 17,798, according to the Certificate of Compliance No. 23 issued in San Felipe on February 21, 2020.

For this plaintiff, there is no substantial evidence regarding the current consequences of the experiences he suffered, however, given the lengthy detention and imprisonment he underwent, this court estimates the compensation amount at $25,000,000 (twenty-five million pesos).

11.- Regarding the plaintiff R.P.S.G., his detention occurred on September 16, 1973, as he was entering his workplace at ENAMI. He was taken to a cell and tortured with electric shocks while being threatened with death. He was transferred to the Guayacán concentration camp, where he was held for 12 days.

Currently, while Mr. R.P.S.G. does not show physical consequences of the torture suffered, given the time that has elapsed since his detention, it is noted in the PRAIS report from La Ligua that psychological consequences consistent with PTSD can be evidenced. Taking all previously described facts into account, the court values the damage suffered by this plaintiff at $15,000,000 (fifteen million pesos).

12.- Regarding the plaintiff F.E.T.T., he was detained on September 17, 1973, by armed civilians representing the military government, who took him to the provincial governor’s office, where he was held for several days and brutally beaten. He would later be detained a second time at his workplace by military personnel who took him to the Engineers’ Regiment No.2 of Aconcagua in Quillota. Here he was tortured, deprived of sleep and food, and subjected to long interrogation sessions where he faced beatings and electric shocks. He was also forced to play Russian roulette. He was detained 16 times for short periods during which he was interrogated. Furthermore, following these detentions, he chose to exile himself in Argentina in 1974, returning to Chile in 1979.

Based on the events experienced by this plaintiff and the consequences confirmed by the PRAIS report, especially the PTSD he suffers from to this day, the court assesses the damages incurred by Mr. F.E.T.T. at $20,000,000 (twenty million pesos).

13.- Regarding the plaintiff H.R.T.V., evidence indicates he was detained on September 11, 1973, by Carabineros at his job at ENAMI, and taken to San Felipe, where he was beaten repeatedly for fifteen days. He was then moved to the Fourth San Felipe Police Station, where he remained for an additional fifteen days before being released. After ten days of freedom, he was re-arrested but was released the next day.

Regarding the consequences of these events for this plaintiff, it is estimated that while he currently shows no physical consequences, the described events resulted in PTSD, which remains to this day. All these circumstances combined guide the court in assessing the damages suffered by Mr. H.R.T.V. at $12,000,000 (twelve million pesos).

14.- Concerning the plaintiff Carlos Valdivia Pastene, he was arrested on September 16, 1973, by Carabineros. He was taken to Cabildo and then to La Ligua Police Station, where he was beaten on the head. He was threatened with being run over by a truck, which they made him lie down for, but they never actually ran him over; they just accelerated and braked just before crushing him. He was also beaten with gun butts. He would subsequently be transferred to San Felipe, where he remained under the provincial police until his release on September 18.

The events experienced by Mr. Valdivia led to both physical and psychological consequences. Although given the years that have passed, no physical injuries were documented, health professionals from PRAIS determined that to this day, Carlos Valdivia suffers from PTSD as a consequence of his detention, imprisonment, and torture. All these circumstances are taken into account by this court to establish the compensation amount, which is estimated at $12,000,000 (twelve million pesos).

15.- Finally, regarding the plaintiff B.C.Q.G., evidence confirmed that he was interrogated and beaten between September 19 and 20, 1973, at the mine «El Delirio» by Carabineros. Later, on an undetermined date in 1974, he was detained at his home by Carabineros from Petorca, who took him to the station, where he was detained and beaten three or four times. The following day, he was sent to the Chincolco Police Station, where he was also beaten, and was freed the next day. Additionally, he would be detained three more times, during which he also received beatings from feet and fists, as well as with the butt of a gun.

Given that beyond the evidence available regarding plaintiff B.C.Q.G., there exists no evidence to ascertain the current consequences of the events he experienced, which, while not diminishing the gravity of what this plaintiff suffered, does affect the determination of the requested compensation, since his current state is unknown. Taking into account the aforementioned and the specific evidence presented regarding this actor, the compensation requested is established at $10,000,000 (ten million pesos).

This ruling is part of a series of civil legal actions that continue to seek redress for the victims of the dictatorship, five decades after the events occurred.

 View First Instance Ruling