By Delisa Morris

Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

SANTIAGO, Chile–On Wednesday, a judge in Chile charged three more people in the murder of folk singer Victor Jara.  Jara was murdered during the country’s 1973 military coup.  The murder occurred during the opening days of the dictatorship of Gen. Augusto Pinochet.

Folk musician Victor Jara. Photo courtesy of instrumental.com

 

 

A judge charged former military officers Hernan Chancon Soto and Patricio Vasquez Donoso in Santiago.  The killing occurred Sept. 16, 1973.  Ex-army prosecutor Ramon Melo Silva was also charged as an accomplice.  The list has grown from eight former army officers who were charged in late 2012 and early 2013 in the killing of Jara.  Jara was a communist supporter, singer and songwriter.

“This decision has to be celebrated and we hope this investigation can continue,” Jara’s widow, Joan Jara, stated at a press conference.  “We know this marks a milestone.”

Jara’s songs were known for tackling social and political issues.  Jara was an open supporter of communism and was a member of the Communist Party of Chile.  During the coup he was swept up with thousands of other supporters of socialist President Salvador Allende.  The military coup was led by Gen. Augusto Pinochet.

In 2013, Jara’s family filed a civil lawsuit in the United States accusing former Chilean army Lt. Pedro Barrientos Nunez of ordering soldiers to torture Jara.  The lawsuit also detailed that Barrientos personally fired the fatal shot while playing a game of “Russian roulette.”  At that time some 5,000 supporters of former President Allende were being detained inside of a locker room in Santiago’s Estadio Chile.

Following his murder, Jara’s body was thrown out onto the street of a town in Santiago.

The locker room where Jara was tortured and killed remains in its original state and currently operates as a shelter for the homeless at night.

Barrientos, who left Chile in 1989 and is currently living in the U.S., is part of the group of officers who also face criminal charges in Chile related to the singer’s killing.  Barrientos continues to deny all involvement in the murder, stating that he wasn’t there and didn’t even know who Jara was at the time of the coup.

The Chilean government estimates 3,095 people were killed during Pinochet’s rule, including an estimated 1,200 people who were forcibly disappeared.

Currently, about 700 military officials still face trial in Chile and about 70 have been jailed for crimes against humanity.

For more information, please see:

ABC News – Chile: 3 More Charged in Victor Jara Murder –  3 Sept. 2014

National Post – Chile Charges Two Army Officers in ‘Russian Roulette’ Style Execution of Folk Singer Victor Jara in 1973 – 4 Sept. 2014

The Prince George Citizen – Chile Charges 3 More People for Torture Death of Folk Singer Victor Jara in 1973 Coup – 3 Sept. 2014

Cuba Si – Three Chilean Officers Charged with Murder of Victor Jara – 4 Sept. 2014