MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

British priest killed by Pinochet Navy could be lead case

Priest Miguel Woodward

The sister of an Anglo-Chilean Catholic priest Miguel Woodward, who disappeared in 1973 in Valparaiso after having been held captive in a naval school vessel, called on the Chilean Navy to assume “responsibilities” for human rights abuses committed during the military regime (1973/1990).

"If the "(Chilean) Armed Forces were involved in this, it's absolutely essential that today's Navy admits responsibility as an institution of the excesses which occurred during 1973" claimed Patricia Woodward in a Santiago radio interview. Ms Woodward insists with the "institutional" responsibility of the Chilean Navy because so far the service has argued that any excesses committed were isolated incidents by naval personnel acting individually, not following orders. This week Judge María Elena Quezada indicted 13 retired members of the Chilean Navy, including four officers for directly participating in the kidnap of priest Woodward who was registered as disappeared on September 22 of 1973. "What happened to my brother goes beyond what can happen to any victim of the military regime: it opens the possibility for the many cases which occurred in the tall ship Esmeralda where they were systematically abused, tortured and disappeared" added Ms Woodward. According to the magistrate the indicted participated in the transfer of Miguel Woodward to the several detention centres such as the Technical University Federico Santa Maria and the Navy's War Academy in Valparaíso. Ms Woodward said that "it wasn't until a couple of years ago it was known or assumed that these places were used to torture people and this is a significant discovery". She also confirmed that because of the tortures her brother suffered, and his poor health conditions, the investigation has yet to determine "whether he died in the Esmeralda or when he was taken to the Navy's hospital". Woodward was arrested by a Navy patrol a few days after the September 11, 1973 bloody coup led by General Augusto Pinochet. He belonged to a group known as "Christians for Socialism". He was viciously beaten and tortured in the Esmeralda but it's still not clear when he died or where his remains were dumped or eliminated. Chilean press reports indicate that the Chilean Catholic Church was never too pressed with claiming for Woodward but given his dual nationality the case was brought up in the House of Commons by MP Jeremy Corbyn and the Conference of Catholic Bishops from England and Wales have supported efforts to discover the circumstances of his death. Among the indicted are retired Rear Admirals Adolfo Walbaum; Guillermo Aldoney Hansen; Juan Mackay Barriga; Captain Sergio Barra Von Kretschmann; Captain Ricardo Riesgo and physician Dr. Carlos Costa Canessa. All have been jailed with the exception of Dr Costa Canessa who is under house arrest. The indictment of Rear admirals Walbaum and Aldoney is particularly significant because at the time one was Commander of Naval Region 1 and the other Chief of Staff of the same region. Walbaum also was the first military mayor of Valparaiso and Aldoney after retiring from the Navy became a successful businessman as head of several commercial companies belonging to the Chilean Navy. Aldoney also closely linked to the Chilean Catholic Church was head of Pope John Paul II security when he visited Chile in 1986. Mackay is vicepresident of the Standing Council of retired Admirals and Generals from Valparaíso and was present when Woodward was being tortured in the Esmeralda according to testimonies from the prosecution. Captain Barra was head of Naval Intelligence in 1973 and later became deputy chief of the notorious secret intelligence agency DINA that was also involved in killings of Chilean dissidents overseas. Finally Dr. Costa Canessa signed as coroner the death certificate of Miguel Woodward without ever having seen the body. Judge Quezada is described as a "very brave woman" by the Chilean press. She has repeatedly received death threats and with the case seated in Valparaiso she has had more difficulties than would have been expected because Valparaíso in the main base of the Chilean Navy, which also has very close links with Judiciary and the Catholic Church