MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

UK ambassador praises Chilean judicial system in case involving death of British citizen in 1973

The remains of Catholic priest Michael Woodward have never been found

This week a Chilean court found two retired naval officers guilty in connection with the kidnapping, torture and murder of a Chilean-British citizen in September 1973; UK Ambassador Jon Benjamin made a statement about the verdicts in trial of those accused.

“It is not the role of the British government to comment on the decisions of the Chilean justice system, however we believe that this was a very serious crime against humanity involving a British citizen, which has caused decades of interminable suffering to his family”, said Ambassador Benjamin in a statement released this week.

“We firmly believe in the fundamental rights of human beings, and in the right of individuals to express their beliefs. It is gratifying to see these rights established in the laws and practices of Chile today. The crime of the Woodward case belongs to a Latin America of the past, and it is pleasing to see how much the region has changed since this time”, added the UK representative.

In 1973, shortly after a military coup seized power in Chile Michael Woodward, a priest working with the poor in the port city of Valparaíso, disappeared. He was later confirmed dead, although no body was ever recovered.

Michael was born in Chile and raised in England, returning to his native country in the early 1950s where he entered a seminary to become a Roman Catholic Priest. Inspired by the Liberation Theology movement that was sweeping across Latin America, Michael eventually moved to the working-class neighbourhood of Cerro los Placeres in Valparaiso after being ordained.

Shortly after the 11 September 1973 coup that deposed elected Socialist President Salvador Allende, Michael disappeared. His family was later told he died but was given no further details.

In the release Ambassador Benjamin states that: We are aware of the two convictions and six acquittals in the case of the disappearance and death of Michael Woodward almost 40 years ago. The British government respects the Chilean judicial system in general, and for having clarified the truth in this case in particular.

The suffering of Michael’s family has been terrible during the intervening years, especially as they have never found his remains and therefore have not been able to give him a proper burial. If anyone involved in this case has any information on other aspects of the case, which enables the identification of others implicated in the case, including the supposed intellectual authors of the crime, or the location of the body of Michael, we urge them to come forward. The Woodward family, at least deserves the right to lay Michael to rest.

The British government has supported the Woodward family during their search for justice, and in their determination to arrive at the truth. The treatment that Michael received before his death has absolutely no justification. Whatever the political beliefs that he had during his life, there can be no justification for what was done to him. The treatment that Michael received was brutal, cruel, illegal and indefensible.

We firmly believe in the fundamental rights of human beings, and in the right of individuals to express their beliefs. It is gratifying to see these rights established in the laws and practices of Chile today. The crime of the Woodward case belongs to a Latin America of the past, and it is pleasing to see how much the region has changed since this time.

We are conscious that both the convictions and the acquittals passed down could be appealed and that any definitive sentence will have to be confirmed by the Supreme Court.

It is not the role of the British government to comment on the decisions of the Chilean justice system. However, we believe that this was a very serious crime against humanity involving a British citizen, which has caused decades of interminable suffering to his family.