From Villa Grimaldi to Melinka: Government Ordered to Compensate Journalist Tortured by DINA

Original article: De Villa Grimaldi a Melinka y el exilio: Estado deberá indemnizar a periodista torturado por la DINA

The Twenty-Seventh Civil Court of Santiago has ordered the State to pay 70 million Chilean pesos to journalist L.A.C.P., who was detained by the National Intelligence Directorate (DINA) on April 11, 1975, during the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet. He suffered torture at the clandestine detention center of Villa Grimaldi and was subsequently moved to Cuatro Álamos, Tres Álamos, and the Melinka prison camp located in Puchuncaví.

In her ruling, Judge Jacqueline Dunlop Echavarría not only set a financial compensation but also dismissed the State’s arguments, establishing that the crimes suffered by the journalist, including torture and abuse, constitute crimes against humanity and are therefore not subject to statute of limitations, both criminally and civilly.

The judicial resolution starkly details the ordeal that L.A.C.P. experienced following his capture in downtown Santiago. The journalist was mistaken for another activist and subjected to a forced itinerary through several detention and torture centers of the dictatorship: Villa Grimaldi (Cuartel Terranova), where he was electrocuted and beaten; Cuatro Álamos; Tres Álamos; and the Melinka prison camp in Puchuncaví. Even at this last facility, while already a prisoner, he was taken out again to be interrogated and tortured by the Navy at the Cuartel Silva Palma. His release in September 1976 marked the beginning of a forced exile in Sweden, which profoundly impacted his life project.

The court particularly emphasized the lasting psychological repercussions experienced by the claimant, supported by a clinical report demonstrating «cumulative trauma.»

The ruling states that L.A.C.P. exhibits symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder that meet the criteria for re-experiencing horror and emotional numbness, along with depressive episodes stemming from feelings of «helplessness» and «the rupture of his own existence.» The sentence adds that these disorders are not isolated events from the past but have «reconfigured his personal, family, and social relationships,» even affecting his educational and employment opportunities, which had to be adapted to the harsh conditions imposed by his return to the country.

«Based on the presented evidence, particularly the clinical evaluation report noted on page 18, which fundamentally concludes that ‘therefore, based on the conducted evaluation and the analysis of the Istanbul Protocol, L.A.C.P. manifests the existence of cumulative trauma, generated by damage from kidnapping, detentions, physical and psychological abuse, political imprisonment by state agents, and exile – relegation, all of which continue to impact him, presenting symptoms of post-traumatic stress, fulfilling the diagnostic criteria for re-experiencing trauma and emotional numbness, as well as symptoms of depression characterized by feelings of helplessness, rupture of one’s existence, and diminished sense of future. The detention, persecution, and exile have affected the reconfiguration of his personal, family, and social relationships, as well as the re-evaluation of his educational, work, and economic sustenance projects, necessitating adjustments to his objectives based on the possibilities afforded by his return to the country in the time frames and conditions permitted by political events,'» the resolution stated.

«All of the above, combined with testimonies from witnesses detailing the lasting effects experienced throughout his life due to the severe violations against his freedom, physical and mental integrity, dignity, illustrate profound pain, anguish, distress, insecurity, and a natural fear of extreme consequences for a person, at the time of the events and undeniably enduring throughout the life of the actor, considering the particular circumstances he suffered, having been detained, deprived of liberty, and tortured on multiple occasions,» it added.

Journalist Tortured by DINA During the Dictatorship

The ruling also includes L.A.C.P.’s first-person testimony describing how he was kidnapped in public, blindfolded, and struck with a gun to the temple, while his captors confused him with another target.

«They tied me to a cot, beat me and shouted, and shocked me with electricity,» recounted the journalist, who witnessed the murder of another prisoner after receiving blows from chains through a hole in the box where he was kept locked up.

This incident, along with the journalist’s refusal to beat a fellow detainee (for which he was further beaten), was considered by the judge as part of the «permanent anguish» that has accompanied his life.

For Judge Dunlop Echavarría, the nature of the crimes and the historical context allow for an «unequivocal conclusion regarding the permanent anguish» that followed such traumatic experiences.

The decision to reject the statute of limitations defense posed by the State is based on the premise that the damage caused by torture «transcends not only the individual sphere but encompasses all vital aspects of those who suffer it.»

Though the claim sought a higher sum, the court set the compensation at 70 million pesos, a figure that will be adjusted according to the Consumer Price Index and will accrue interest from the time the ruling becomes final.