New Setback for Krassnoff: Sentenced for Aggravated Kidnapping, His Announced ‘Total Freedom’ Fades

Original article: Nuevo golpe para Krassnoff: condenado por secuestro calificado y se aleja su anunciada “libertad total”

Miguel Krassnoff Martchenko, a former Army brigadier and agent of the National Intelligence Directorate (DINA), has been sentenced again for crimes committed during the civil-military dictatorship led by Augusto Pinochet, pushing his announced ‘total freedom’ further away.

This time, the visiting minister for human rights cases at the San Miguel Court, Marianela Cifuentes, issued a first-instance ruling against him, sentencing him to 6 years of minimum-security prison for his role as an author of the crime of aggravated kidnapping, which caused severe harm through torture against former MAPU militant Hernán Toledo Guajardo, perpetrated on January 8, 1976.

According to the investigation, Toledo was kidnapped by DINA agents on the morning of January 8, 1976, in Puente Alto and was subsequently taken to the clandestine detention center “Villa Grimaldi”, located on José Arrieta Avenue in La Reina, where he remained until late January 1977.

During his detention, he was interrogated and subjected to repeated physical abuse by Krassnoff Martchenko, which included stripping, beatings, and the application of electricity to various parts of his body.

Details reveal that the former MAPU member was detained for 10 months, during which he was transferred among various DINA clandestine centers and other sites of repression under the dictatorship, including Tres y Cuatro Álamos and Puchuncaví, until he regained his freedom in November 1976.

With this ruling, the historical face of repression—publicly defended by President José Antonio Kast—adds to his record consisting of over 80 cases for crimes against humanity, with a cumulative sentence exceeding one thousand years in prison.

Meanwhile, other DINA agents involved in this case were dismissed due to death, exemplifying a clear case of biological impunity.

The complainant Francisco Bustos from Caucoto Lawyers referred to the new ruling against Krassnoff, stating, «This reminds us that the systematic crimes of the DINA continue to be judged, as these atrocities utterly violated human dignity.»

«Regarding such acts, states have undertaken commitments concerning truth, justice, and holding perpetrators accountable. In this context, it should also serve as a warning against the new attempts at impunity we witness daily. Impunity must not be allowed, and those responsible for crimes against humanity must serve effective sentences,» he asserted, as cited in a press release.

Krassnoff’s ‘Total Freedom’ Slips Further Away

This new convicting ruling hinders the hopes of the former brigadier and DINA agent for total freedom, which he announced days ago through a letter from the Til-Til Penitentiary Center (formerly Punta Peuco).

This open letter was addressed to Senator Iván Flores (DC) following the publication of El Ciudadano: «‘I am not available for Krassnoff to be released from prison’: Senator Flores responds to proposals for penal benefits,» which reflects the senator’s warnings that several former agents of the dictatorship convicted of crimes against humanity could benefit from a legislative project pushed by Chile Vamos legislators that establishes the possibility of canceling sentences or serving them under total house arrest for those suffering from serious illnesses or of advanced age.

In the text disseminated via the X account @PuntaPeucoHoy, Krassnoff described the coup on September 11 as ‘necessary’—the event that led to the civic-military dictatorship.

The former brigadier sentenced to over 1,000 years in prison for aggravated kidnappings, torture, and enforced disappearances committed during Augusto Pinochet’s regime stated that ‘justice and truth matter nothing in Chile today.»

He indicated that like his ‘prison comrades’, he does not need ‘forgiveness, mercy, favors, nor special laws’ to obtain his freedom and that he only hopes ‘for the application of current laws’, additionally anticipating his ‘imminent total freedom’.

«Mr. Iván Flores, I anticipate that despite all the pain we face today, the former uniformed remain dignified and our honor unblemished thanks to our faith in God, the exemplary love of our families, and the selfless actions of remarkable people who provide us with affection and trust. Thanks to them, our convictions and will to fight remain intact, just like our certainty of an imminent total freedom,” he asserted in the letter.