Pinochet officials jailed ‘in absentia’ in France

A court room, a verdict, but no defendents.

Even so, France has symbolically ‘jailed’ 13 former members of the Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet’s regime for their role in the disappearence and probable murder of four French citizens in the early 1970s.

Pinochet was also implicated but was never tried, and he died in 2006. No trace of the four men has ever been found.

“I was just one when my father disappeared,” said Natalia Chanfreau, whose father Alphonse was one of the four men who disappeared. “I am now 37, so I have spent my entire life without justice. There are still many things to do, and I just want to know where my father is.”

Two of the accused were given life sentences; the others received at least 15-year terms. A 14th suspect was acquitted.

Alphonse Chanfreau’s brother Bernard said: “It’s a tough verdict, and a significant one. But the fact is nothing will bring them back.”

Most of the accused are either in jail or in hiding, and it’s highly unlikely they’ll ever be handed over to French justice. However, the whereabouts of one of them are known. Manuel Contreras, who headed Pinochet’s secret police force, is currently in prison in Chile.

Pinochet ruled Chile from 1973 to 1990. His regime left more than 3,000 people dead or missing.

Copyright © 2012 euronews