Torturers of Chilean President Bachelet's father sentenced to jail

SANTIAGO (Reuters) - A Chilean judge on Friday sentenced two retired colonels to prison for the torture of President Michelle Bachelet's father, which indirectly led to his death, during the early days of General Augusto Pinochet's 1973-1990 dictatorship. Judge Mario Carroza sentenced Edgar Cevallos Jones to a two-year term and Ramon Caceres Jorquera to three years for committing the "crime of torture resulting in the death" of Air Force General Alberto Bachelet Martinez. Alberto Bachelet, who was loyal to deposed President Salvador Allende, was incarcerated following the September 1973 coup and charged with treason. After being imprisoned in a public jail, Bachelet, like other servicemen opposed to the dictatorship, was periodically taken to the Air Warfare Academy to be tortured. He died of a heart attack on March 12, 1974, at the age of 50 following a long session of interrogations, where he was again tortured. An estimated 3,000 people were kidnapped and killed or disappeared and 28,000 were tortured during the 17-year dictatorship. Pinochet died in 2006 at the age of 91 without facing a full trial for the crimes committed under his rule. Michelle Bachelet, who is serving her second term in office, was also tortured during the dictatorship before fleeing to East Germany with her mother, Angela Jeria. (Reporting by Antonio de la Jara and Erik Lopez; Writing by Anthony Esposito; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn)