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Original article: Justicia tardía: Corte ordena al Fisco indemnizar a sociólogo torturado en Estadio Chile y Estadio Nacional

Delayed Justice: Court Mandates Compensation for Sociologist Tortured at Chile Stadiums

More than five decades after the atrocities following the September 1973 coup, Chilean justice has delivered a ruling aimed at remedying the suffering of one of the many victims of the dictatorship. The Santiago Appeals Court has ordered the Chilean government to pay 30 million pesos to sociologist A.V.P.E for the irreparable moral damage caused by his illegal detention and the torture he endured at Estadio Chile and Estadio Nacional, which were used as centers for incarceration and torment.

The unanimous ruling by the Sixth Chamber of the appellate court affirms the decision made by the 25th Civil Court of Santiago, but with a crucial modification: the compensation amount was prudently increased in proportion to the demonstrated damage. Judges Manuel Rodríguez, Paula Rodríguez, and attorney member Sebastián Perelló determined that the initial sum needed to be raised to reflect the magnitude of the suffering experienced by the individual. The judicial resolution states that the compensation is proportional to the time of deprivation of liberty, the assaults suffered, and the profound consequences this had on his subsequent life, particularly concerning his emotional and social well-being.

A.V.P.E.’s story serves as a testament to the brutality unleashed following the coup. The sociologist was arrested at his workplace, the Technical University of the State, in the early hours of September 12, 1973, and subsequently transported without any judicial warrant to Estadio Chile, where he remained for two nights under inhumane conditions. He witnessed murders and beatings, and he himself fell victim to violence. Later, he was sent to Estadio Nacional, where he was confined in locker room number 11 with around 70 others, kept in underground hallways, subjected to strict discipline and degrading treatment that marked his ordeal.

The peak of his detention occurred on October 3, 1973, when he was taken to the Velodrome, the area designated for interrogations and torture. There, a man known as «Tapia» subjected him to an interrogation where physical and psychological violence were the main tools. A.V.P.E. recounted in his claim how he was hit with metal knuckles on his ribs, a torture that caused intense pain radiating to his spine, and how he received multiple blows to the stomach with a ‘tonto de goma’, an instrument designed to leave no visible marks. His testimony graphically depicts the meticulous nature of the torture and the sadism of his perpetrators, who aimed to shatter his will through pain.

The consequences of that detention have not faded over the years. The ruling acknowledges that the physical and psychological damages are permanent, manifesting as insomnia, unspecified fears, irritable bowel syndrome, and especially in recurring nightmares where the victim relives the assaults he endured. The court considered these long-term consequences as a central factor in determining the compensation amount, understanding that the moral damage transcends the moment of the aggression and extends over time, affecting the victim’s quality of life.

The legal representatives of the sociologist argued that the perpetrators were members of Carabineros and other armed forces, dressed in public authority, making the state civilly responsible for their actions. This argument is bolstered by the explicit acknowledgment the state has made of its responsibility in these crimes, through official reports like those from the National Commission on Truth and Reconciliation and the «Valech Report», in which A.V.P.E. was recognized as a victim of political imprisonment and torture.

In addition to the principal amount, the Appeals Court provided technical clarifications regarding its payment. It was established that the compensatory sum will be adjusted from the date the ruling is final and enforceable, and that interest will accrue from the date the state is deemed in default, in accordance with the provisions of the Civil Code.

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