Court Rules $90 Million Compensation for Sisters Tortured by CNI in 1987

Original article: Tortura y secuelas hasta hoy: Corte eleva a $90 millones la indemnización a hermanas detenidas por la CNI en 1987

The Fifth Chamber of the Santiago Court of Appeals delivered a unanimous decision today, ordering the government to pay a total of $90,000,000 as compensation for the moral damage inflicted on sisters M.G.R.Z. and M.P.R.Z., who were detained and subjected to torture and mistreatment by agents of the National Intelligence Center (CNI) and Joint Command in 1987.

At the time of their arrest on June 24, 1987, the sisters were just 21 and 19 years old. On that day, agents from the repressive forces of the dictatorship led by Augusto Pinochet violently intruded into their lives, detaining them along with their parents and an uncle, marking the beginning of a judicial and personal ordeal that continues to this day.

The appellate court, composed of judges Fernando Valderrama, Matías de la Noi, and acting lawyer Magaly Correa, upheld the first-instance ruling but increased the compensation amounts in direct proportion to the verified damage. Accordingly, the indemnity for M.G.R.Z. was set at $60,000,000 due to the nearly two years and nine months of her deprivation of liberty, as well as the torture and mistreatment that resulted in severe auditory and psychological issues, consequences of which persist to this day.

In the case of M.P.R.Z., who was a minor at the time of the events, the court fixed the compensation at $30,000,000. The ruling emphasized her fifteen-day detention, exposure to torture and mistreatment, and witnessing the suffering inflicted upon her close family members, which caused her severe psychological repercussions. The judicial resolution underscores that these hardships justify the increase in economic compensation.

Regarding interest, the ruling concludes that “considering that the purpose of interest is to compensate the beneficiary for the delay in fulfilling or paying an obligation, these are entirely warranted and will accrue from the point the defendant falls into arrears,” in line with Article 752 of the Civil Procedure Code.

The decision was made with the concurrence of Minister De la Noi, who agreed with the majority ruling except for the amount of compensation awarded to M.G.R.Z., for which he favored confirming the initial sentence. Initially, the Eleventh Civil Court of Santiago had ordered the state to pay $30,000,000 to E.D.A.R.T. (father), $30,000,000 to N.E.Z.S. (mother), and $12,000,000 to O.G.Z.S. (uncle).

Detained and Tortured by the CNI

According to the account detailed in the ruling, the abuses suffered by sisters M.G.R.Z. and M.P.R.Z. began on June 24, 1987, when a violent raid carried out by over 50 agents of the CNI and the Joint Command invaded their home in La Reina. During the operation, the agents acted with excessive force: dragging individuals, destroying household objects, and confining family members in separate rooms for interrogation and even beatings and torture with electricity.

Once at the police station, the sisters endured physical and psychological torture at the hands of CNI agents, the Investigative Police, and Gendarmerie. M.G.R.Z. was subjected to the so-called “telephone” treatment, receiving a sharp blow to both ears that caused her a permanent auditory injury, in addition to fierce interrogations where her recorded voice was used to simulate screams that tormented her parents.

M.P.R.Z, on her part, was pulled from her cell, hooded and bound, and suffered inappropriate touching. She was also interrogated by several men who threatened to harm her family.

M.G.R.Z. remained imprisoned as a political prisoner until April 11, 1990, totaling two years and nine months, while M.P.R.Z continued her solitary confinement until July 8, regaining her freedom on August 5, 1987.

The physical and emotional scars from these abuses have profoundly marked the lives of the sisters and their entire family and persist even after 39 years.