Chile’s Supreme Court Rejects Final Appeal by Dictatorship-Era Agent Rafal Iturriaga Neumann, Serving 515 Years; Bid for Home Detention Denied

Chile’s Supreme Court rejected a habeas corpus petition filed by the defense of retired Army officer and former DINA agent Ra fal Eduardo Iturriaga Neumann, who is serving a cumulative 515-year prison term across 42 cases tied to Operation Condor, Operation Colombo, and his criminal role at the torture centers Villa Grimaldi and \»La Venda Sexy\».

According to the Judiciary, the filing sought to replace his effective imprisonment with home detention due to advanced age and health issues, including cardiac and renal conditions.

In a unanimous ruling (case No. 38.841-2025), the Second Chamber of the high court f4 c7 a6composed of Justice Leopoldo Llanos, Justices Mar eda Teresa Letelier and Mar eda Carolina Catepill e1n, and substitute attorneys Juan Carlos Ferrada and Eduardo Gandulfo f4 c7 a6found no exceptional circumstance that would justify altering the regime under which retired Army officer Ra fal Eduardo Iturriaga Neumann is currently serving his sentence at the Centro de Cumplimiento Penitenciario de Punta Peuco (Punta Peuco Prison).

\»In sum, although the petitioner is an older adult and has conditions requiring special care, the standards set by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights in Advisory Opinion No. 29/22 do not authorize changing how the various court-imposed sentences are to be served,\» the decision states.

The court added that \»on the one hand, Chile’s Gendarmerie has consistently adopted personalized measures to safeguard the petitioner’s health, seeking to reconcile prison conditions with his health and dignity as an older person; and on the other, the criteria tied to ensuring and making effective the rights of victims and families of crimes against humanity have not been fulfilled.\»

It further notes that \»given the medical records in this case and the ongoing monitoring and specialized care provided to the petitioner by the Punta Peuco Penitentiary Center, there is no compelling basis to conclude that confinement in that facility constitutes an affront to his personal dignity,\» confirming that Iturriaga will remain at Punta Peuco.

Appeals by Other Convicted Officers Also Rejected

In a separate, split decision (case No. 39.846-2025), the Second Chamber of the Supreme Court f4 c7 a6composed of Justice Leopoldo Llanos, Justices Mar eda Teresa Letelier and Mar eda Carolina Catepill e1n, and substitute attorneys Juan Carlos Ferrada and R a1ul Fuentes f4 c7 a6found no arbitrariness in the ruling that denied a protective action filed by retired Navy members Juan de Dios Reyes Basaur, H e9ctor Santib e1 c3ez Obreque, and Sergio Hevia Febres, who were convicted for crimes committed at the Silva Palma barracks in Valpara edso.

Like Iturriaga, the former servicemen sought to modify the effective enforcement of their prison terms due to their \»advanced ages.\» The Supreme Court dismissed those bids as well.

As the judgment notes, the defendants \»have neither acknowledged nor expressed remorse for the tragic consequences of their judicially established criminal actions f4 c7 a6a step that, had it been taken, could mark a starting point in the legitimate aspiration of victims and their families to obtain full and effective reparation for the harm suffered.\»

Read both rulings HERE

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Second rebuff: Court rejects habeas corpus; Iturriaga Neumann remains in Punta Peuco with a 515-year sentence across 42 cases

El Ciudadano