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65-528: In 1993, Townley was also convicted in absentia by an Italian court of carrying out the 1975 Rome murder attempt on Bernardo Leighton . Townley worked in producing chemical weapons for DINA which would be used against Pinochet regime political opponents, along with Colonel Gerardo Huber and the DINA biochemist Eugenio Berríos . He has long maintained status as a protected witness . In 1957, Townley moved to Chile with his father, Vernon Townley, who became head of

130-526: A Colt .45 caliber automatic pistol when he visited Chile in the spring of 1976. According to Townley, Romero said that the weapon had recently been used in a "hit" by the Cuban Nationalist Movement and that his purpose in Chile was to use it again. Townley then said that Romero had broken the weapon in pieces and scattered the pieces throughout Santiago. In 2005, DINA chief Manuel Contreras also told

195-405: A European Arrest Warrant if the country that is making the request has already tried that person in absentia. Conditions under which trials in absentia must be recognised include: if the person can be said to have been aware of the trial; if a counsellor took their place at the trial; if they do not request an appeal in due time; and if they are to be offered an appeal. The framework decision on

260-506: A bomb placed under Letelier's car as it reached Sheridan Circle on Washington's Embassy Row . The blast killed Letelier and Ronni Moffit. Paz Romero, his wife, a son and a daughter lived under assumed names in the area of West Palm Beach, Florida since 1980. Taking the name "Francisco Luis (Frank) Baez", Paz Romero was active in the community and owned a landscaping business in Boynton Beach, Florida since 1985. On April 24, 1991, he

325-494: A criminal offence" who is in Mr. Colozza’s position, that person should, once he becomes aware of the proceedings, be able to obtain, from a court which has heard him, a fresh determination of the merits of the charge. The Human Rights Committee (HRC) examined Monguya Mbenge v. Zaire (1990) in which the applicant was sentenced to death while exiled in Belgium and was only able to learn of

390-487: A defendant in absentia is represented by court-appointed counsel and where he or she has an opportunity to be re-tried, the right to a fair trial will not be violated. The committee disagreed, describing Italy's position as: clearly insufficient to lift the burden placed on the State party if it is to justify trying an accused in absentia. It was incumbent on the court that tried the case to verify that [Maleki] had been informed of

455-462: A defendant may forfeit the right to be present at trial through disruptive behavior , or through his or her voluntary absence after trial has begun. In 1993, the Supreme Court revisited Rule 43 in the case of Crosby v. United States . The Court unanimously held, in an opinion written by Justice Harry Blackmun , that Rule 43 does not permit the trial in absentia of a defendant who is absent at

520-526: A letter from March 14, 1976, Townley noted how he received the order to assassinate Orlando Letelier from Pedro Espinoza. When updating the letter after the assassination of Letelier was carried out on September 21, 1976, Townley noted how he recruited the team of American-based Cuban exiles after traveling to the United States after obtained phony visas in Paraguay. Townley also claimed he received assistance from

585-492: A manner specified by law. In general, the Czech Criminal Procedural Code requires the presence of the defendant in any criminal proceedings. The code recognizes the following exemptions from this rule, when criminal proceedings may be conducted without the presence of the person charged: Apart from the aforementioned cases of in absentia proceedings in the narrow sense, the defendant may also be absent during

650-422: A network of individual Southern Cone secret polices known as Red Condor . In 2011, an investigation was launched into the death of Pablo Neruda , partially on the strength of a statement from his driver that he was injected with a poison by a Dr. Price. Price's description matched that of Townley, and police examined this link while Neruda's body was exhumed and tested for possible toxins. On November 8, 2013,

715-482: A summons prior to being tried. In this sense, the ministers are emphasizing that it is not the presence of the accused at the hearing that is of importance, rather the focus should be on whether or not the individual was informed of the trial in time. In a 1985 judgement in the case Colozza v Italy , the European Court of Human Rights stressed that a person charged with a criminal offence is entitled to take part in

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780-463: A threat to the U.S. and was preparing a Chilean government in exile, according to Contreras. Contreras wrote in the document that "the Chilean President disposed in personal, exclusive and direct manner of the action of CIA agent Michael Townley against Mr. Orlando Letelier". Contreras also stated that Chile's National Information Center (CNI) handed out monthly payments between 1978 and 1990 to

845-438: A trial in absentia can be considered compatible with Article 6, the right to a fair trial . According to Pieter Cleppe of the think-tank Open Europe , in parts of Europe, in absentia trials essentially give defendants the ability to appeal twice—asking for a retrial at which they would be present and then potentially appealing the second verdict. There are some guarantees in the legal system that make sure that it's fair, that

910-475: A violation of natural justice. Specifically, it violates the second principle of natural justice , audi alteram partem (hear the other party). In some civil law legal systems , such as that of Italy, absentia is a recognized and accepted defense strategy. Such trials may require the presence of the defendant's lawyer, depending on the country. Member states of the Council of Europe that are party to

975-407: Is Latin for "in (the) absence". Its interpretation varies by jurisdiction and legal system. In common law legal systems, the phrase is more than a spatial description. In these systems, it suggests a recognition of a violation of a defendant's right to be present in court proceedings in a criminal trial. Conviction in a trial in which a defendant is not present to answer the charges is held to be

1040-512: Is a Cuban exile and militant who was involved in the 1976 assassination of former Chilean ambassador Orlando Letelier in Washington, D.C. Paz Romero was one of two people accused of detonating a remote-controlled car bomb that killed Letelier and a colleague in Washington's Sheridan Circle . Paz's family left Santa Clara, Cuba in the mid-1960s when he was 14. In 1966 while his family

1105-550: Is a former DINA agent who resided in unofficial exile in Buenos Aires after the assassination of Chilean Army Chief of Staff René Schneider on October 25, 1970. Arancibia was arrested by Argentine intelligence officers shortly after the extradition of Townley to the US and charged with espionage . Townley was convicted in the United States of the 1976 murder of Orlando Letelier in Washington, D.C. During his trial, he said that Pinochet

1170-579: The Chilean Army . Immediately after the 1973 coup, Prats went into exile in Argentina. DINA chief Manuel Contreras tasked Townley with the assassination of Prats. Townley spent three weeks in Buenos Aires monitoring Prats and planning. On September 30, 1974, Prats and his wife Sofia were killed outside their apartment in Buenos Aires by a radio-controlled car bomb . Debris reached the ninth-floor balcony of

1235-577: The European Arrest Warrant provides for the legal guarantees relevant to trials in absentia. While the framework decision explicitly refers to Article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights , its purpose is not to harmonise national laws on trials in absentia but to provide terms for the non-recognition of a European Arrest Warrant and other cooperative tools. The framework decision provides detailed conditions and requirements on which

1300-522: The European Convention on Human Rights are bound to adhere to Article 6 of the convention, which protects the right to a fair trial. Trials in absentia are banned in some member states of the EU and permitted in others, posing significant problems for the fluidity of mutual recognition of these judicial judgments. The executing member state possesses some degree of discretion, and is not obliged to execute

1365-583: The Ford Motor Company in Chile. He worked as a salesman of mutual fund stocks. In 1967, he moved to Miami with his family and worked as a mechanic in Miami's Little Havana , where he became friends with anti- Castro exiles. In 1970, Townley moved his family back to Chile. Townley later testified that, before leaving the US, he contacted the CIA to offer his services in Chile, however Townley said he never worked for

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1430-548: The Supreme Court of Chile voted unanimously to request that the United States extradite Paz, Chilean Armando Fernandez Larios, and American Michael Townley who were wanted for the July 1976 detention, torture, and murder of Carmelo Soria , a Spanish-Chilean citizen and United Nations diplomat . The three men were former agents of Augusto Pinochet 's secret police Dirección de Inteligencia Nacional . By August 2023, however, it

1495-532: The CIA. Back in Chile, Townley ran a clandestine anti-Allende radio station and worked with violent opposition groups. He fled Chile in the months before the 1973 coup which overthrew Allende. Townley then returned to Chile and was recruited by the DINA. Michael Townley was responsible for the assassination of General Carlos Prats , who served as a minister in Salvador Allende 's government while Commander-in-chief of

1560-589: The Chilean judge responsible for trying the case that Townley had been supported for Letelier's assassination by CIA agents, as well as the Cuban Nationalist Movement and members of the Venezuela's National Directorate of Intelligence and Prevention Services (DISIP), for which Luis Posada Carriles worked. General Vernon Walters , CIA deputy director from 1972 to 1976, informed Pinochet that Letelier represented

1625-705: The Laboratorio de Guerra Bacteriológica del Ejército (Bacteriological Warfare Laboratory of the Army) on the other. It is suspected the toxin that supposedly killed Frei Montalva in a Santa Maria clinic in 1982 was created there. This new laboratory in Colonia Dignidad would have been, according to him, the continuation of the laboratory the DINA had in Via Naranja de lo Curro where he worked with DINA biochemist Eugenio Berríos ; despite this claim, Townley previous acknowledged that

1690-461: The Pinochet regime. He also confessed to the murders of two Chileans, - real estate conservator Renato León Zenteno (1976) and Army corporal and DINA agent Manuel Leyton (1977)- using sarin nerve gas that he manufactured in the chemical laboratory in his home. In a U.S. Department of Justice affidavit dated August 23, 1991, U.S. Justice Department attorney Eric B. Marcy noted how the United States obtained

1755-486: The September 21, 1976, car-bombing murders in Washington, D.C. In November 2002, Soria's widow, Laura Gonzalez-Vera, along with the personal representative of Soria's estate, sued Townley seeking damages for Soria's torture and killing. When Townley defaulted, the district court entered a $ 7 million judgment against him. The Supreme Court unanimously ruled that the foreign ministry of Chile should file an extradition request to

1820-584: The United States did not have a deportation agreement with Cuba, he was placed into indefinite custody of the Immigration and Naturalization Service . In July 2001 after the Supreme Court of the United States ruled that indefinite detentions were unconstitutional, Paul Huck of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida ordered Paz Romero released. In May 2016,

1885-418: The United States for Michael Townley and Armando Fernández Larios. In May 2016, the Supreme Court of Chile asked for the extradition of Townley, Virgilio, and Armando Fernández Larios for their alleged roles in the murder of Soria in 1976. As of 2015, Townley remained in the U.S. Witness Protection Program and his whereabouts were unknown. In August 2023, however, it was reported that a recent conviction which

1950-571: The United States have held that the United States Constitution protects a criminal defendant's right to appear in person at their trial, as a matter of due process , under the Fifth , Sixth , and Fourteenth Amendments . In 1884, the Supreme Court of the United States held that the legislature has deemed it essential to the protection of one whose life or liberty is involved in a prosecution for felony, that he shall be personally present at

2015-623: The United States, in order to reduce the tension resulting from Orlando Letelier's murder. However, his departure from Chile did not undergo a standard extradition process and was regarded as an expulsion. In addition, Townley also sought protection from Manuel Contreras and Pedro Espinoza . He arrived in the United States on April 8, 1978. He made an agreement with the U.S. government on April 17, 1978, which required that he only provide information relevant to violations of U.S. law or offenses committed in U.S. jurisdiction. Based on that argument, he refused to provide any information concerning DINA during

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2080-450: The abduction were found guilty. The trial of American Amanda Knox for the 2007 murder of British student Meredith Kercher highlighted the issue of Italy's willingness to try defendants in absentia. In 2013 Italy's highest court, the Court of Cassation , decided to annul Knox's appeal (alongside the co-accused, Italian Raffaele Sollecito), thus overturning their previous acquittals, declaring

2145-473: The acquittal as "full of deficiencies, contradictions and illogical conclusions". As Amanda Knox remained at her home in the United States, her appeal was heard in absentia, in Florence, Italy. On 30 January 2014 her guilty verdict was re-instated for the murder of Kercher and her sentence set at 28 years and six months imprisonment. In the case of Goddi v. Italy , the European Court of Human Rights held that

2210-428: The beginning of trial. This case requires us to decide whether Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 43 permits the trial in absentia of a defendant who absconds prior to trial and is absent at its beginning. We hold that it does not. ...The Rule declares explicitly: "The defendant shall be present...at every stage of the trial... except as otherwise provided by this rule " (emphasis added). The list of situations in which

2275-496: The building across the street. In 1983, Townley entered a plea deal which would grant him immunity from prosecution. In March 1993, Townley was convicted and sentenced in absentia in Italy to an 18-year prison sentence, with two years remission, over his role as an intermediary between the DINA and Italian neo-fascist terrorist organizations, including Avanguardia Nazionale . However, he

2340-481: The case against him through the media. Due to these circumstances, the committee found that a number of the applicant's procedural rights had been violated, especially in consideration of the fact that the Zairean authorities had hardly attempted to contact the applicant despite possible knowledge of the applicant's address. This highly impeded the applicant's capacity to prepare any form of defense. Failed evidence to support

2405-595: The case that a court had tried to inform the accused of proceedings against him/her provides the committee with the opinion that the right to be tried in one's presence was violated. Under Article 8(2) of the Charter of Fundamental Rights and Basic Freedoms of the Czech Republic , which has the same legal standing as the Czech Constitution , no one may be prosecuted or deprived of their liberty except on grounds and in

2470-448: The documents from his wife between 1982 and 1990, stating, among other things, that the confessions “were prepared by Townley prior to his expulsion from Chile in order to protect him from the fugitives Manuel Contreras and Pedro Espinoza and to protect his expulsion from Chile." The aliases which Townley used while he was a DINA agent included Juan Andres Wilson; Hans Peterson Silva; Kenneth William Enyart; and Pablo Andres Simpon Valle. In

2535-471: The establishment of probable cause . In Gallina v Fraser , the appellant Vincenzo Gallina was convicted in absentia according to established Italian procedure for two robberies. The verdict in Gallina has been since interpreted to suggest that the presence of legal counsel alone is, in certain cases, insufficient to give an in absentia conviction that establishes probable cause. For more than 100 years, courts in

2600-672: The extradition of Townley's wife, Mariana Callejas, who was accused of involvement in Carlos Prats' murder. But, in July 2005, Chilean judge Nibaldo Segura of the Court of Appeals stated that the case cannot proceed, arguing that Callejas was already being tried in Chile. Questioned in March 2005 by Judge Alejandro Madrid about former Chilean Christian Democrat President Eduardo Frei Montalva 's death, Michael Townley acknowledged links between Colonia Dignidad , led by Paul Schäfer and DINA on one side and

2665-425: The failure of Italy's judiciary to inform the officially appointed lawyer of the applicant in regards to the correct date of the trial hearing deprived the applicant of an effective defence, and therefore Article 6 (3) (c) had been violated. Certain case law supports the notion that in some circumstances representation by counsel at the trial will not be enough to make an in absentia conviction conclusive enough for

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2730-414: The hearings. This entitlement is based on the right to a fair trial and the right to a defence, both of which are required by the convention (articles 6(1) and 6(3)). Furthermore, the court stressed that a person convicted in absentia shall be entitled to a fresh trial once he becomes aware of the proceedings: When domestic law permits a trial to be held notwithstanding the absence of a person "charged with

2795-538: The laboratory where he based his production of toxins was located in the basement of his home. Townley would also have testified on biological experiments made upon prisoners in Colonia Dignidad with the help of the two above mentioned laboratories. However, the allegation that Montalva was a murder victim was later dismissed in Chilean court. In 1992, Townley testified that the Spanish diplomat Carmelo Soria , assassinated in 1976, had been detained at his home on Via Naranja in

2860-659: The murder were Cuban-Americans José Dionisio Suárez, Virgilio Paz Romero , Alvin Ross Díaz, and brothers Guillermo and Ignacio Novo Sampol. According to the Miami Herald , Luis Posada Carriles was also at this meeting, which decided on Letelier's death and also about the Cubana Flight 455 bombing. Townley was the prosecution's chief witness at the trial for Ross and the Novo brothers. In April 1978, Chile agreed to extradite Townley to

2925-454: The pending case before proceeding to hold the trial in absentia. Failing evidence that the court did so, the [HRC] is of the opinion that [Maleki's] right to be tried in his presence was violated. In 2009, a former CIA station chief and two other Americans were tried and convicted in absentia by a Milan appeals court for the abduction of Egyptian terror suspect Osama Hassan Mustafa Nasr. The decision meant that 26 Americans tried in absentia for

2990-497: The persons who had worked with Townley in Chile, all members of Patria y Libertad : Mariana Callejas (Townley's wife), Francisco Oyarzún, Gustavo Etchepare and Eugenio Berríos. Assassinated in 1992, Berríos worked with drug traffickers and DEA agents. In December 2016, a Chilean court ruled that both Townley and former Chilean Major General Armando Fernandez Larios could be tried in Chile for these murders. In 2003, Argentine Federal Judge María Servini de Cubría asked Chile for

3055-413: The right to be present requires true freedom of choice. A trial court may infer that a defendant's absence from trial is voluntary and constitutes a waiver if a defendant had personal knowledge of the time of the proceeding, the right to be present, and had received a warning that the proceeding would take place in their absence if they failed to appear. The courts indulge every reasonable presumption against

3120-456: The rights of the defense are not being violated, while still making sure that justice is being done. In absentia judgments are common ... you can criticize that, but it's quite common. The Council of Europe has made commentary on judgments that are made in absentia. The Committee of Ministers , in Resolution (75) 11, of 21 May 1975, stated that an individual must first be effectively served with

3185-520: The sector of Lo Curro. There he was tortured and, since he did not speak, subjected to sarin (which had been made by Berríos). Soria was then detained and tortured again in the Villa Grimaldi and his case was included in Spanish magistrate Baltasar Garzon 's indictment of Pinochet . In May 2016, Chile's Supreme Court asked the United States to extradite Chilean Armando Fernandez Larios, Townley and Cuban Virgilio Paz, all three of whom were linked to

3250-599: The test results were released, with head of Chile's medical legal service Patricio Bustos stating that "No relevant chemical substances have been found that could be linked to Mr. Neruda's death". However, Carroza said that he is waiting for the results of the last scientific test conducted in May 2015, which found that Neruda was infected with the Staphylococcus aureus bacterium, which can be highly toxic and result in death if modified. The Chilean government suggested in 2015 that it

3315-533: The trial has begun in his presence , he voluntarily absents himself, this does not nullify what has been done or prevent the completion of the trial, but, on the contrary, operates as a waiver of his right to be present and leaves the court free to proceed with the trial in like manner and with like effect as if he were present." Diaz v. United States , 223 U.S. at 455 [1912] (emphasis added). Examples of people convicted in absentia are: Virgilio Paz Romero Virgilio Pablo Paz Romero (born November 20, 1951)

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3380-565: The trial may proceed without the defendant is marked as exclusive not by the "expression of one" circumstance, but rather by the express use of a limiting phrase. In that respect the language and structure of the Rule could not be more clear. However, in Crosby , the Rehnquist Court reiterated an 80-year-old precedent that Where the offense is not capital and the accused is not in custody, ...if, after

3445-625: The trial of the three Cuban defendants in Washington, D.C. in early 1979 concerning Letelier's assassination. Townley was then freed under an unofficial Witness Protection Program. The United States is still waiting for Pedro Espinoza Bravo, a former Chilean military and DINA operative also involved in the assassination of Letelier, to be extradited. DINA chief Manuel Contreras died in Santiago in 2015, without having been extradited. In an interview with authorities on October 20, 1981, Townley declared that Castro opponent Virgilio Paz Romero brought with him

3510-668: The trial under following circumstances: Italy is one of several countries in Europe that allow trials in absentia, and they are a regular occurrence. In Maleki v Italy (1997), the United Nations Human Rights Committee held that the Italian policy on trials in absentia was a breach of the right to fair trial under Article 14 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights . Italy argued that where

3575-535: The trial, that is, at every stage of the trial when his substantial rights may be affected by the proceedings against him. If he be deprived of his life or liberty without being so present, such deprivation would be without that due process of law required by the Constitution. A similar holding was announced by the Arizona Court of Appeals in 2004 (based on Arizona Rules of Criminal Procedure): A voluntary waiver of

3640-527: The waiver of fundamental constitutional rights. Although United States Congress codified this right by approving Rule 43 of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure in 1946 and amended the Rule in 1973, the right is not absolute. Rule 43 provides that a defendant shall be present However, the following exceptions are included in the Rule: Indeed, several U.S. Supreme Court decisions have recognized that

3705-404: The years, references to Townley's confession have appeared in books and articles as researchers and reporters gained access to Chile's judicial files." In his first "confession" letter dated March 13, 1978, Townley described himself as taking part in numerous missions on behalf of DINA and "following orders from Gen. Contreras ." In another "confession," dated March 14, 1978, Townley detailed how he

3770-400: Was "highly probable that a third party" was responsible for Neruda's death, and a forensics test taken through samples of Neruda's remains in 2017 rejected Neruda's "official cause of death," which had been listed as prostate cancer . However, scientists who exhumed Neruda's body in 2013 had backed claims that he was suffering from prostate cancer. It was also acknowledged that Neruda's driver

3835-505: Was captured without incident while driving to work a few days after he was profiled on an episode of America's Most Wanted . The segment featured an age progressed portrait of Paz Romero drawn by forensic artist Karen T. Taylor . In July 1991, Paz Romero pleaded guilty in the conspiracy to assassinate Letelier, and on September 13, 1991, he was sentenced to 12 years in prison. He was paroled after serving half of his sentence, and an immigration judge ordered him deported . Given that

3900-567: Was given to six former DINA agents and two former army officers would be the "final conviction" issued by the Supreme Court of Chile for Soria's murder. On November 22, 2023, Townley's confessions about his four-year career as a DINA assassin were "reproduced in full and published together" for the first time by the National Security Archive . Despite this, the National Security Archive's website also acknowledged that "Over

3965-631: Was in Mexico City awaiting papers to emigrate to the United States, Paz's father died. He settled in a Cuban community in New Jersey with his mother. When he was 16, Paz was the youngest member of the Cuban Nationalist Movement . On September 21, 1976, Orlando Letelier drove colleagues Michael and Ronni Moffitt to work at the Institute for Policy Studies in his Chevrolet Chevelle . Paz and Jose Dionisio Suarez Esquivel followed in sedan. Paz detonated

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4030-493: Was recruited by DINA officials in 1974 and how he served DINA's lead international assassin. He would be given a mansion in the upper-class Lo Curro neighborhood of Santiago, be instructed to build a chemical warfare laboratory in his basement, and get appointed to lead a special DINA unit called the “Agrupación Avispa”—the Wasp Group—which operated under DINA's Mulchén Brigade and was “dedicated to elimination” of opponents of

4095-561: Was responsible for planning the murder. Manuel Contreras , head of the DINA, also stated that Pinochet planned the assassination of both Prats and Letelier. Townley served 62 months in prison for the murder. Townley confessed that he had hired five anti-Castro Cuban exiles to booby-trap Letelier's car. According to Jean-Guy Allard , after consultations with the leadership of the anti-Castro Cuban organization Coordinación de Organizaciones Revolutionarias Unidas (CORU), including Luis Posada Carriles and Orlando Bosch , those chosen to carry out

4160-553: Was still a member of the United States witness protection ; at the time of Enrique Arancibia Clavel 's arrest in May 2000 for murder of Carlos Prats , it was acknowledged that Townley was left as a member of witness protection following the Orlando Letelier case. Michael Townley also stated that Arancibia had traveled to California in the autumn of 1977 on banking business for ALFA, alias Stefano Delle Chiaie . Enrique Arancibia

4225-416: Was the one who claimed he was poisoned. In Roberto Bolaño's novel By Night in Chile (2000), the character Jimmy Thompson, an American who has been deputized by the Chilean secret police to torture opponents of the regime, is based on Michael Townley. Trial in absentia Trial in absentia is a criminal proceeding in a court of law in which the person being tried is not present. In absentia

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