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| Widow of Missing's Chilean coup victim carries on her fight for justice | Widow of Missing's Chilean coup victim carries on her fight for justice |
| (10 days later) | |
| Among thousands of Chileans caught in a brutal roundup following the military coup that unseated President Salvador Allende was Charles Horman, a young American journalist who had settled in Santiago with his wife Joyce. A decade later the story of his abduction at the hands of General Pinochet's troops was told in 1982 by film-maker Costa-Gavras in Missing, an Oscar-winner starring Sissy Spacek and Jack Lemmon. It ended on celluloid as in life, with Horman and another young American, Frank Teruggi, in all likelihood killed by Pinochet's executioners beneath Santiago's football stadium. | Among thousands of Chileans caught in a brutal roundup following the military coup that unseated President Salvador Allende was Charles Horman, a young American journalist who had settled in Santiago with his wife Joyce. A decade later the story of his abduction at the hands of General Pinochet's troops was told in 1982 by film-maker Costa-Gavras in Missing, an Oscar-winner starring Sissy Spacek and Jack Lemmon. It ended on celluloid as in life, with Horman and another young American, Frank Teruggi, in all likelihood killed by Pinochet's executioners beneath Santiago's football stadium. |
| For days, Joyce Horman had no idea what had happened to her husband. He had realised they were in trouble and had been out trying to buy plane tickets. Joyce was caught in the curfew, but when she got home the next morning Charles was gone. Their home had been ransacked; neighbours warned her to flee, as the soldiers would return. Santiago was under curfew, its streets running with soldiers. Her father-in-law, Ed Horman, went to Chile to help. "Bless his courageous soul," she told the Observer. "He came to the heart of the coup to look for his only son." | For days, Joyce Horman had no idea what had happened to her husband. He had realised they were in trouble and had been out trying to buy plane tickets. Joyce was caught in the curfew, but when she got home the next morning Charles was gone. Their home had been ransacked; neighbours warned her to flee, as the soldiers would return. Santiago was under curfew, its streets running with soldiers. Her father-in-law, Ed Horman, went to Chile to help. "Bless his courageous soul," she told the Observer. "He came to the heart of the coup to look for his only son." |
| Today, sher considers herself privileged to at least know the circumstances of her husband's death when so many families of the 3,000 Chileans who went missing still do not. "Missing is a dreadful state of mind: so many have lived for years without knowing." | Today, sher considers herself privileged to at least know the circumstances of her husband's death when so many families of the 3,000 Chileans who went missing still do not. "Missing is a dreadful state of mind: so many have lived for years without knowing." |
| She plans to mark the 40th anniversary of the coup with an event celebrating the judges, lawyers and human rights activists who led efforts to illuminate this dark period of Latin American history and western geopolitical meddling. | She plans to mark the 40th anniversary of the coup with an event celebrating the judges, lawyers and human rights activists who led efforts to illuminate this dark period of Latin American history and western geopolitical meddling. |
| Among those to be honoured are Juan Garcés, the Spanish human rights lawyer who invoked the principle of universal jurisdiction that led to the arrest of Pinochet for genocide and other crimes against humanity in London in 1998; his UK counterpart Sir Geoffrey Bindman QC; Baltasar Garzón, the judge who issued Pinochet's arrest warrant; and Juan Salvador Guzmán Tapia, the judge who pursued him through the courts after his return to Chile, where he died in 2006 under house arrest and facing more than 300 criminal charges. | Among those to be honoured are Juan Garcés, the Spanish human rights lawyer who invoked the principle of universal jurisdiction that led to the arrest of Pinochet for genocide and other crimes against humanity in London in 1998; his UK counterpart Sir Geoffrey Bindman QC; Baltasar Garzón, the judge who issued Pinochet's arrest warrant; and Juan Salvador Guzmán Tapia, the judge who pursued him through the courts after his return to Chile, where he died in 2006 under house arrest and facing more than 300 criminal charges. |
| "It's an act of gratitude to the people who worked so hard to bring about accountability and an acknowledgement of the success of that work," she said. Horman's organisation, the Charles Horman Truth Foundation, will also celebrate lawyers and officials who brought about the declassification of US documents related to the coup in the presence of Joan Jara, the British widow of the murdered Chilean folksinger Víctor Jara. | "It's an act of gratitude to the people who worked so hard to bring about accountability and an acknowledgement of the success of that work," she said. Horman's organisation, the Charles Horman Truth Foundation, will also celebrate lawyers and officials who brought about the declassification of US documents related to the coup in the presence of Joan Jara, the British widow of the murdered Chilean folksinger Víctor Jara. |
| Many questions remain. In May, Chilean government lawyers completed the translation of the extradition request for US naval captain Ray Davis, head of the US military group in Santiago at the time of the coup and who Horman believes was instrumental in her husband's detention. But the request has yet to be filed with the US embassy in Santiago. "It feels like they're dragging their feet," said Horman. "They're using the possibility that he died as a way to forestall the extradition request." | Many questions remain. In May, Chilean government lawyers completed the translation of the extradition request for US naval captain Ray Davis, head of the US military group in Santiago at the time of the coup and who Horman believes was instrumental in her husband's detention. But the request has yet to be filed with the US embassy in Santiago. "It feels like they're dragging their feet," said Horman. "They're using the possibility that he died as a way to forestall the extradition request." |
| Documents declassified by the Clinton administration in the late 90s described the case involving her husband, a liberal activist who had been looking into the murder of René Schneider, a Chilean general opposed to Allende's overthrow, as "continuing to be bothersome". That release came more than a decade after the Horman family sued Henry Kissinger and other Nixon administration officials for wrongful death and suffering caused by the concealment of circumstances surrounding it. The action was unsuccessful, but Horman believes it helped focus tens of thousands of exiled Chileans involved with Chile Solidarity to continue to press for accountability. | Documents declassified by the Clinton administration in the late 90s described the case involving her husband, a liberal activist who had been looking into the murder of René Schneider, a Chilean general opposed to Allende's overthrow, as "continuing to be bothersome". That release came more than a decade after the Horman family sued Henry Kissinger and other Nixon administration officials for wrongful death and suffering caused by the concealment of circumstances surrounding it. The action was unsuccessful, but Horman believes it helped focus tens of thousands of exiled Chileans involved with Chile Solidarity to continue to press for accountability. |
| "People shouldn't be satisfied with truth and reconciliation commissions," said Michael Ratner at the Centre for Constitutional Rights in New York. "Chile stands for the principle that criminal prosecution plays an incredibly important part in accountability." | "People shouldn't be satisfied with truth and reconciliation commissions," said Michael Ratner at the Centre for Constitutional Rights in New York. "Chile stands for the principle that criminal prosecution plays an incredibly important part in accountability." |
| Last year eight Chilean army officers were indicted in the killing of Jara and last week it emerged that the family has taken legal action in Florida against the former army officer – now a US citizen – whom it alleges killed him. Jara has been reburied in the national cemetery. In another case, the body of the poet Pablo Neruda was recently exhumed to determine if he had been poisoned. | Last year eight Chilean army officers were indicted in the killing of Jara and last week it emerged that the family has taken legal action in Florida against the former army officer – now a US citizen – whom it alleges killed him. Jara has been reburied in the national cemetery. In another case, the body of the poet Pablo Neruda was recently exhumed to determine if he had been poisoned. |
| In Chile last week the judicial profession formally apologised for abandoning its role as protectors of human rights then. But with no prosecution of her husband's killers, Horman remains suspicious of the US-Chile relationship. Official reports, including one by the senate committee headed by Frank Church, found no evidence of direct US assistance to the coup, but Nixon feared Chile could become "another Cuba". The CIA later confirmed that, while it had not supported the coup, it had "actively supported the military junta after the overthrow of Allende". Still, the CIA had tried to block Allende coming to power in 1970 and US aid to the military had been increased. | In Chile last week the judicial profession formally apologised for abandoning its role as protectors of human rights then. But with no prosecution of her husband's killers, Horman remains suspicious of the US-Chile relationship. Official reports, including one by the senate committee headed by Frank Church, found no evidence of direct US assistance to the coup, but Nixon feared Chile could become "another Cuba". The CIA later confirmed that, while it had not supported the coup, it had "actively supported the military junta after the overthrow of Allende". Still, the CIA had tried to block Allende coming to power in 1970 and US aid to the military had been increased. |
| But until Missing came out, Horman recalls, the Chilean drama was still mostly under wraps. "It raised the consciousness. No one had been thinking about what went on in Chile, how violent it was, how a democracy was overturned or how a brutal dictatorship was offered all sorts of support." | But until Missing came out, Horman recalls, the Chilean drama was still mostly under wraps. "It raised the consciousness. No one had been thinking about what went on in Chile, how violent it was, how a democracy was overturned or how a brutal dictatorship was offered all sorts of support." |
| In the event Horman, played by Spacek, was informed by the Ford Foundation that her husband was killed a few months after the coup. The Chilean military found "misfiled fingerprints" which verified this claim. | In the event Horman, played by Spacek, was informed by the Ford Foundation that her husband was killed a few months after the coup. The Chilean military found "misfiled fingerprints" which verified this claim. |
| Horman's case continues. Two years ago, judge Jorge Zepeda charged a Chilean army officer, Pedro Espinoza . For now, his testimony is under seal. | Horman's case continues. Two years ago, judge Jorge Zepeda charged a Chilean army officer, Pedro Espinoza . For now, his testimony is under seal. |
| His widow asks herself if it would have helped if she been able to get home on the night of Charles's abduction. "It was a very scary time. I still have my problems with it. He got back to the house, I did not. If I'd been there, I would have been taken with him." | His widow asks herself if it would have helped if she been able to get home on the night of Charles's abduction. "It was a very scary time. I still have my problems with it. He got back to the house, I did not. If I'd been there, I would have been taken with him." |
| Her catharsis came when she visited Chile in 1990 for celebrations marking the return to democracy. "The military were still on the streets but we were in the stadium. It was like an exorcism. I was shaking. But there was Ted Kennedy talking about human rights crimes. He wasn't looking the other way, he was looking straight at it." | Her catharsis came when she visited Chile in 1990 for celebrations marking the return to democracy. "The military were still on the streets but we were in the stadium. It was like an exorcism. I was shaking. But there was Ted Kennedy talking about human rights crimes. He wasn't looking the other way, he was looking straight at it." |
| The visit steeled her to continue to seek accountability and advance the legal doctrine of universal jurisdiction, to be discussed at the foundation's day-long seminar in New York on Monday. "It's a legal principle that will eventually produce results," she said. "The more you push up these things, the more likely you are to be successful." | The visit steeled her to continue to seek accountability and advance the legal doctrine of universal jurisdiction, to be discussed at the foundation's day-long seminar in New York on Monday. "It's a legal principle that will eventually produce results," she said. "The more you push up these things, the more likely you are to be successful." |
| Tribute to Justice – Remembering 40 years, Monday 9 September 2013, 583 Park Avenue @ 63rd Street New York | Tribute to Justice – Remembering 40 years, Monday 9 September 2013, 583 Park Avenue @ 63rd Street New York |
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