Communist Youth Activist: Court Raises Compensation to $70 Million for Illegal Imprisonment and Torture

Original article: Militante de las Juventudes Comunistas: Corte eleva a $70 millones la indemnización por prisión ilegal y torturas

The Communist Youth activist was a victim of double captivity: first in 1974 at the hands of the Military Intelligence Service (SIM) in Linares, where he suffered torture, and then in 1979, when he was recaptured by the National Intelligence Center (CNI) in Santiago.

In a unanimous decision reaffirming the state’s duty to address serious human rights violations committed during the dictatorship period, the Santiago Court of Appeals increased the compensation for moral damages owed to J.R.L.C. to $70 million. The community leader and Communist Youth member endured double captivity: first in 1974 at the hands of the Military Intelligence Service (SIM) in Linares, where he was tortured, and later in 1979 when he was recaptured by the Central National Intelligence (CNI) in Santiago.

The ruling of the Seventh Chamber, consisting of judges José Pablo Rodríguez Moreno, Pamela Quiroga Lorca, and acting lawyer Paola Herrera Fuenzalida, upheld the initial judgment from the Twenty-Fifth Civil Court of Santiago, while declaring that the amount of compensation was increased «prudently in proportion to proven damage.»

Legal Basis: The Presumption of Incommensurable Harm

The judicial resolution delves into the nature of the harm suffered by J.R.L.C. The judges refer to Supreme Court jurisprudence to remind that moral damage constitutes «a wrong, injury, or distress concerning one’s spiritual faculties; in other words, it causes pain or affliction to a person’s feelings.»

The court argues that while all harm must be proven, in cases like this, the very nature of the events makes the harm «so natural and perceptible to the victim that it is entirely reasonable to presume it.» The ruling starkly details the circumstances that justify this presumption:

«Indeed, this is the case of a man who unlawfully spent almost three years deprived of his freedom, who was subjected to cruel physical and psychological suffering, who was condemned by military justice, and who had to go into exile until 1990. This situation profoundly affected not only him but also his family, who were deeply impacted by the experiences. These acts, resulting from the coercive actions of state agents, whose official duty never justified the adoption of such procedures, inflicted a persistent sense of violation and dispossession upon the victim. This is undeniably indicative of a genuine personal and familial tragedy.»

For the judges, the official acknowledgment by the Chilean state through the National Institute of Human Rights, which classifies Lavín as a victim of the dictatorship, alongside the uncontested nature of the events during the trial, seals the certainty of the inflicted suffering.

«It is to be regarded as certain the account provided, and concerning the moral suffering cited, to consider it serious and grave, as nothing else could be expected,» concludes the ruling, which sets the total compensation at $70 million for reasons of «prudence and equity.”

Tortures and Hell at the Artillery School of Linares

The story of J.R.L.C., as recorded in the judicial proceedings and in his testimony before the Valech Commission in 2004, exemplifies the systematic terror exercised by repressive agencies during Augusto Pinochet’s dictatorship.

On April 23, 1974, agents of the SIM burst into his home on Nueva Esmeralda Street No. 92 in Población Linares. Their immediate destination was the Artillery School of Linares, a military facility that became a torture center where he remained incommunicado until May 4 of that year.

In his testimony, the communist activist recounted the torture methods he endured, including brutal beatings by agents such as Sergio Pérez, Héctor Torres, and Antonio Aguilar, among others, and requested to be «as brief as possible,» fully aware of the pain that the memory still inflicted decades later.

«I was subjected to savage beatings with feet, fists, and rifle butts as a form of coercion. I was tied to a metal cot with many straps to immobilize me and was administered strong electric shocks all over my body, including my tongue, anus, and penis. I endured hangings for long periods by my feet and hands, with beatings and electric shock applied during this time, in addition to asphyxiation using nylon bags placed over my head. I also suffered sexual humiliation, mock executions, long periods of isolation, insults, and all sorts of abuses. This happened repeatedly over long periods,» he indicated.

The physical consequences of these tortures have been permanent and devastating. Damage to his spinal column, specifically to a nerve (arachnoid) with ramifications toward his legs, has caused chronic pain accompanying him throughout his life. During his exile in England, he underwent multiple treatments and three surgical interventions, including the implantation of a spinal stimulator to alleviate his pain, although without the expected results and awaiting a fourth surgery.

Condemnation, Exile, and Another Arrest by the CNI

After being «softened» through torture, J.R.L.C. was formally charged and convicted by the Military Prosecutor’s Office of Linares to 10 years in prison, accused of belonging to a paramilitary group. He served his sentence at the Public Jail of Linares until March 1977, when he was transferred to the Annex of the Capuchinos Prison in Santiago. Ultimately, on April 17, 1977, he was exiled to England, taking refuge under the decree of expulsion that commuted his sentence.

However, his ordeal was not over. After the end of his exile, he returned to Chile in January 1990. Just a few months later, on the night of April 10, when he arrived at his home in Población Javiera Carrera, in the Estación Central commune, he was intercepted by agents of the Central National Intelligence (CNI). The violence was immediate: «his captors grabbed him by the hair and beat him with their weapons, forcing him into his home; some of his captors were already inside his house while others came from the adjacent house, stripped him, searched him, and continued to beat him.» After being brutally interrogated, he was taken to the infamous CNI headquarters on Calle Borgoño in Independencia.

Ruling and Costs Decision

Finally, the appellate court decided to revoke the appealed ruling in aspects related to the exception of integral compensation and the absence of interests. Instead, it ordered:

«I. The appealed ruling from October 28, 2024, is revoked regarding the partial acceptance of the exception of integral compensation for damages, and it is ruled that this is entirely rejected.

II. The same decision is revoked concerning the order for the payment of the amount to which the Chilean Treasury was condemned without interest or adjustments, and instead, it is decided that the interests will be calculated from the moment the defendant is in default, while adjustments shall be made from the time the decision becomes final.

III. The appealed ruling is confirmed in all other aspects, with the declaration that the amount the Chilean Treasury must pay the claimant for moral damage amounts to $70,000,000 (seventy million pesos), plus the established interests and adjustments.»

The decision to absolve the treasury from the costs of the sentence was made with the dissenting vote of Judge Rodríguez Moreno. This ruling judicially recognizes the suffering of a citizen, persecuted, tortured, and forced into exile due to his political activism, marking both his life and that of his family with the indelible stamp of state terrorism.

View ruling from the Court of Appeals