The Supreme Court sentenced seven retired military personnel to prison terms of up to 25 years for the kidnapping and murder of singer and composer Víctor Jara, days after Augusto Pinochet’s dictatorship began on September 11, 1973.
In a unanimous decision, two weeks before the 50th anniversary of the coup that toppled socialist Salvador Allende, the country’s highest court sentenced seven reserve officers of the Chilean army to between eight and 25 years in prison for the murder of Jara. one of the most famous voices in pop music in Latin America.
The verdict, which follows an appeal filed by the defendant, also takes into account the murder and kidnapping of former prison director Littré Quiroga, who was being held with Jara in what was then the Estadio Chile, in downtown Santiago, where some opponents were staying recorded after the Installation of the Pinochet regime.
The sentence sentenced reserve officers Raúl Jofré, Edwin Dimter, Nelson Haase, Ernesto Bethke, Juan Jara and Hernán Chacón to 15 years in prison for the murders of Jara and Littré and 10 years for both kidnappings, as well as eight years as an accomplice to Rolando Melo.
The convicts are between 73 and 85 years old and all are free.
Jara, a Communist Party activist, was tortured and shot 44 times after being arrested days after the coup at the State Technical University where he taught.
Littré Quiroga was the national prison director and also a member of the Communist Party. His body, which also showed signs of torture, was found next to the body of Víctor Jara on a piece of land next to a railway track.