Krassnoff Sentenced to 15 Years for Kidnapping and Disappearance of University Student, Backed by Kast

Original article: Más de mil años y otra condena: Krassnoff, defendido por Kast, suma 15 años por secuestro y desaparición de estudiante de la U. de Chile

Former Army Brigadier and ex-agent of the National Intelligence Directorate (DINA), Miguel Krassnoff Martchenko, has been convicted again for crimes committed during the military dictatorship led by Augusto Pinochet.

This time, the Third Chamber of the Court of Appeals in Santiago upheld a 15-year prison sentence for the kidnapping and disappearance of Universidad de Chile student, D.H.A.P., events that took place in Santiago starting August 10, 1974.

The former DINA agent, a notorious figure of repression, was previously sentenced to 12 years in prison for aggravated kidnapping and torture of two members of the Central Committee of the MIR.

With this appellate ruling, this historical symbol of repression—publicly defended by José Antonio Kast—extends his record to over 80 cases related to crimes against humanity, with total sentences amounting to more than 1,000 years in prison.

Specifically, Krassnoff, who was also a member of the Caupolicán Brigade and chief of the Falcon Group, was sentenced to fifteen years of medium security imprisonment as the perpetrator of aggravated kidnapping of the victim, after the Court fully confirmed the initial sentencing issued by Minister in extraordinary visit Paola Plaza in December 2025.

Defending attorney Carolina Vega from Caucoto Law Firm praised the ruling and recalled that the family of the student from Universidad de Chile «has waited decades for a modicum of justice and this ruling represents a significant milestone in that regard.«

«Another conviction of Miguel Krassnoff is an act of justice,” she affirmed in a press statement.

According to the lawyer, «the decision of the Third Chamber is correct and represents a concrete advancement in matters of truth and reparation«.

«Now, we await the actions of the convicted’s defense and in the event of an appeal against the second-instance ruling, we hope that the Supreme Court confirms the decision so that the family receives the justice they have long sought,» stated the professional.

Kidnapping and Disappearance of a Universidad de Chile Student During the Dictatorship

It is noteworthy that the student D.H.A.P. was identified by witnesses at the DINA’s clandestine detention center “Londres 38”, overseen by Army Major Marcelo Moren Brito (deceased) and then-captain Miguel Krassnoff Martchenko. The victim is believed to have been transferred to the Cuartel 4 Álamos, from where he vanished and, despite efforts made by his family, his whereabouts remain unknown to this day.

During the investigation, Judge Plaza established the following facts:

“D.H.A.P, a militant of the Revolutionary Left Movement (MIR), was detained on August 10, 1974, at the home of the Quevedo Godoy family, where he was temporarily residing in Santiago. At around 02:30 am, a group of individuals entered the residence, armed and identifying themselves as DINA agents.

They gathered the residents who were sleeping in the house, requested their identification cards, displaying a search warrant for the arrest of one of the sons, A.Q.G. The identification documents were returned, except for D.H.A.P.’s, who was detained without any explanations regarding the reasons for his arrest or where he would be taken. He was subsequently identified by witnesses at the DINA headquarters known as Londres 38 in Santiago, a facility overseen by the deceased Major Marcelo Noren Brito, along with Captain Miguel Krassnoff Martchenko and Carabineros Lieutenant Ricardo Víctor Lawrence Mires (also deceased), and later at Cuartel 4 Álamos, the last known location where he was seen alive, with no information about his whereabouts since.

The actions taken against him occurred in a context of enforced disappearances and other cruel and inhumane treatment for political reasons.

D.H.A.P. had moved from his hometown of Concepción to Santiago, due to persecution and political violence, particularly against members and supporters of the MIR, temporarily residing with the Q.G. family because of his friendship with two of its members, siblings P.Q.G. and A.Q.G.

At the time of the events, the National Intelligence Directorate was managed by Manuel Contreras Sepúlveda (deceased), and various operational units and detention centers under its authority, including Londres 38, were dependent on the Metropolitan Intelligence Brigade, led by then-Major César Manríquez Bravo (currently mentally incapacitated), which operated from the end of December 1973 until at least September 1974.

Despite all the efforts undertaken by his family and the search actions carried out through legal actions taken, they were unable to determine his place of destination, a situation that persists to this day.

Kast’s Public Defense of Krassnoff

Krassnoff, known as “El ruso,” is serving over 1,000 years in ex-Punta Peuco—now the Til Til prison—and despite multiple convictions against him, he has never acknowledged his involvement in the crimes committed under the command of the DINA during Pinochet’s regime.

As part of the backing—or the relativization—given by certain right-wing sectors to the perpetrators of the dictatorship, in 2017, in an interview with T13 Radio, José Antonio Kast described the crimes for which Krassnoff has been convicted as “things said about him.”

“I’ve been to Punta Peuco twice, and on one of those visits, I had the chance to meet him. He gave me his book, which presents his version of the events. I know Miguel Krassnoff and, seeing him, I don’t believe all the things said about him,” he asserted in an attempt to validate the ex-military’s narrative:

“I do not question that crimes were committed, human rights violations, I do not question that. What I question is the prosecutions,” he added.

The statements from the current President of Chile are resonating significantly in light of this new conviction of Krassnoff and the demands for justice from the dictatorship’s victims and their families.