Original article: El amigo de Kast: Procesan a Krassnoff por secuestro y desaparición de hermanos Gerardo Rubilar Morales y Ernesto Salamanca Morales
The extraordinary visiting minister for human rights violation cases at the San Miguel Court of Appeals, Marianela Cifuentes, has formally charged former agent of the disbanded National Intelligence Directorate (DINA), Miguel Krassnoff Martchenko, for his role in the aggravated kidnapping (disappearance) of brothers Gerardo Ismael Rubilar Morales and Ernesto Guillermo Salamanca Morales, which occurred in January 1974 in Santiago.
In the ruling (case role 27-2009), Minister Cifuentes stated, «In light of the reasoning and provisions outlined in Articles 274 and 276 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, it is declared that MIGUEL KRASSNOFF MARTCHENKO is subjected to prosecution and preventive detention as the author of the crime of aggravated kidnapping, as defined and penalized in Article 141, final paragraph of the Penal Code, in its consummated degree, against Gerardo Ismael Rubilar Morales and Ernesto Guillermo Salamanca Morales, members of the Communist Party, during January 1974.»
The Events
During the investigation stage, Minister Marianela Cifuentes gathered sufficient evidence to establish the following facts:
“1. In January 1974, agents from the National Intelligence Directorate (DINA), led by Colonel Juan Manuel Guillermo Contreras Sepúlveda – now deceased – unlawfully detained brothers Gerardo Ismael Rubilar Morales (25 years old) and Ernesto Guillermo Salamanca Morales (20 years old), who were both members of the Communist Party.
2. Furthermore, it is confirmed that Gerardo Ismael Rubilar Morales and Ernesto Guillermo Salamanca Morales were taken to the secret detention center of the DINA, known as ‘Londres 38’, located at Londres St. No. 38 in Santiago, where they were illegally deprived of their liberty, their subsequent whereabouts remain unknown to this day.
3. At that time, the clandestine detention center ‘Londres 38’ was overseen by Major Marcelo Luis Manuel Moren Brito – now deceased – assisted by Lieutenant Miguel Krassnoff Martchenko.
4. The detention centers of the National Intelligence Directorate were dependent on the National Intelligence Brigade, commanded by Officer César Manríquez Bravo.”
You can review the full ruling HERE.
Rettig Report
According to the Rettig Report, on January 25, 1974, or before, the Communist Party militants and siblings Gerardo Ismael Rubilar Morales, age 25, an employee, and Ernesto Guillermo Salamanca Morales, age 20, a university student, were detained.
Both had been arrested after the September 11, 1973 coup during raids conducted in La Legua, where they lived at the time, remaining for 23 days in the National Stadium. The precise date of their detention has not been established but is believed to be January 25, 1974, or shortly before.
On the day of their detention, just before midnight, the two brothers arrived at their parents’ house in Lo Gallardo, near the city of San Antonio, accompanied by approximately twelve armed individuals, who claimed to be there to try to release detainees from Tejas Verdes. The brothers appeared nervous. They left the following morning.
However, some of those who brought the brothers returned and arrested Ernesto Salamanca’s father and a younger brother, who were taken to Tejas Verdes, where they were severely tortured and released after being missing for 42 days.
Testimonies considered credible by this Commission have confirmed that Gerardo Rubilar and Ernesto Salamanca were taken to Tejas Verdes, where their trail was lost.
“The statements from multiple witnesses, the situation experienced by the family members, and the detention of Gerardo Rubilar’s fiancée at Tejas Verdes, allow the Commission to conclude that the detainees disappeared at the hands of DINA agents, in violation of their human rights, and that the version provided by the political authority at the time, which stated the brothers were not detained, must be rejected,” concludes the Rettig report.
Read more about this case here (Memoria Viva).
The Citizen
