Latest news with #Colonia
The Star
6 days ago
- Politics
- The Star
Chile's government to expropriate land tied to Pinochet-era torture
VILLA BAVIERA (Reuters) -Chile plans to expropriate a settlement founded by a German cult leader where torture took place during former dictator Augusto Pinochet's military regime as the government takes another step to shine a light on a dark period of the past. The enclave, originally called Colonia Dignidad and renamed Villa Baviera, was founded in 1961 by Paul Schafer, a former Nazi medic turned evangelical preacher who kept the isolated community under tight control and was later jailed for sexually abusing children. During Pinochet's 1973-1990 dictatorship, Colonia Dignidad also bore witness to another kind of abuse: the torture of political prisoners by military forces in a secret prison at the site. Schafer collaborated with Pinochet's secret police and in exchange was shielded for years from prosecution for his own crimes. The dictatorship viewed the secretive, fortified and remote community as an ideal site to detain and torture dissidents away from public view. The government now wants to turn the 290-acre (117-hectare) community into a memorial, Justice Minister Jaime Gajardo said at an event this month. The aim is to make it "a place that allows all Chileans to enter freely to learn about what happened there," Gajardo said. "Nothing justifies violating human rights as they were violated during the military dictatorship." Schafer died in prison in 2010. Several hundred families once lived at the settlement about 350 kilometers (217 mi) south of Santiago. Today the population numbers closer to 100, many of whom are descendants of the original German settlers. Businesses at Villa Baviera, or Bavarian Village, have tried in recent years to attract visitors to the area's picturesque green fields and views of snow-capped mountains. In the expropriation, property owners will be compensated under terms still to be determined by experts, Gajardo said. The government aims to complete the expropriation before President Gabriel Boric leaves office in March. The justice minister said the community consists of about 90 land parcels but did not specify the number of businesses or residents. PAINFUL PAST Dozens of physically and mentally traumatizedmembers of Colonia Dignidad eventuallyrelocatedto Germany, and the site's history drew international attention in the 2015 film "Colonia." Plans for the expropriation underscore the challenges for governments in coming to terms with complicated histories in places that have overlapping layers of rights abuses. Chile's National Institute of Human Rights in a recent report said those who were tortured by Pinochet's forces as well as the people who suffered under Schaefer's control were equally victims of Colonia Dignidad. Jose Patricio Schmidt, who grew up in Colonia Dignidad and still lives there, said residents had existed in a bubble, unaware of the dictatorship's abuses. "Schaefer would gather us together to read the Bible in a place about a kilometer from where people were tortured, and we knew nothing," he said in an interview at a memorial site in the community that pays tribute to the torture victims. Tens of thousands of people were arrested and tortured throughout Chile during Pinochet's rule, and 1,469 people were victims of forced disappearance. Some have criticized the government's move to take away property from current Villa Baviera community members, especially those who were themselves victims of abuse. Juergen Szurgeleis in an interview said he tried as a boy to escape forced labor and abuse at Colonia Dignidad. "Is it my fault for being born here?" he said. "And now they want to take away my land and leave me in the street?" Yet a former political prisoner at Colonia Dignidad, Luis Jaque, said he struggles to see how the community, which includes a German restaurant and a hotel catering to tourists, can carry on without recognizing the horrors of the past. "It's not reconcilable, at least not for me," he said. (Reporting by Nicolás Cortés in Villa Baviera and Santiago; Writing by Leila Miller and Fabián Cambero; Editing by Daina Beth Solomon and Cynthia Osterman)
Straits Times
6 days ago
- Politics
- Straits Times
Chile's government to expropriate land tied to Pinochet-era torture
Find out what's new on ST website and app. VILLA BAVIERA - Chile plans to expropriate a settlement founded by a German cult leader where torture took place during former dictator Augusto Pinochet's military regime as the government takes another step to shine a light on a dark period of the past. The enclave, originally called Colonia Dignidad and renamed Villa Baviera, was founded in 1961 by Paul Schafer, a former Nazi medic turned evangelical preacher who kept the isolated community under tight control and was later jailed for sexually abusing children. During Pinochet's 1973-1990 dictatorship, Colonia Dignidad also bore witness to another kind of abuse: the torture of political prisoners by military forces in a secret prison at the site. Schafer collaborated with Pinochet's secret police and in exchange was shielded for years from prosecution for his own crimes. The dictatorship viewed the secretive, fortified and remote community as an ideal site to detain and torture dissidents away from public view. The government now wants to turn the 290-acre (117-hectare) community into a memorial, Justice Minister Jaime Gajardo said at an event this month. The aim is to make it "a place that allows all Chileans to enter freely to learn about what happened there," Gajardo said. "Nothing justifies violating human rights as they were violated during the military dictatorship." Schafer died in prison in 2010. Several hundred families once lived at the settlement about 350 kilometers (217 mi) south of Santiago. Today the population numbers closer to 100, many of whom are descendants of the original German settlers. Businesses at Villa Baviera, or Bavarian Village, have tried in recent years to attract visitors to the area's picturesque green fields and views of snow-capped mountains. In the expropriation, property owners will be compensated under terms still to be determined by experts, Gajardo said. The government aims to complete the expropriation before President Gabriel Boric leaves office in March. The justice minister said the community consists of about 90 land parcels but did not specify the number of businesses or residents. PAINFUL PAST Dozens of physically and mentally traumatized members of Colonia Dignidad eventually relocated to Germany, and the site's history drew international attention in the 2015 film "Colonia." Plans for the expropriation underscore the challenges for governments in coming to terms with complicated histories in places that have overlapping layers of rights abuses. Chile's National Institute of Human Rights in a recent report said those who were tortured by Pinochet's forces as well as the people who suffered under Schaefer's control were equally victims of Colonia Dignidad. Jose Patricio Schmidt, who grew up in Colonia Dignidad and still lives there, said residents had existed in a bubble, unaware of the dictatorship's abuses. "Schaefer would gather us together to read the Bible in a place about a kilometer from where people were tortured, and we knew nothing," he said in an interview at a memorial site in the community that pays tribute to the torture victims. Tens of thousands of people were arrested and tortured throughout Chile during Pinochet's rule, and 1,469 people were victims of forced disappearance. Some have criticized the government's move to take away property from current Villa Baviera community members, especially those who were themselves victims of abuse. Juergen Szurgeleis in an interview said he tried as a boy to escape forced labor and abuse at Colonia Dignidad. "Is it my fault for being born here?" he said. "And now they want to take away my land and leave me in the street?" Yet a former political prisoner at Colonia Dignidad, Luis Jaque, said he struggles to see how the community, which includes a German restaurant and a hotel catering to tourists, can carry on without recognizing the horrors of the past. "It's not reconcilable, at least not for me," he said. REUTERS
17-07-2025
- Entertainment
'Harry Potter' star Emma Watson temporarily banned from driving in UK after speeding violation
Emma Watson is temporarily hitting the brakes on driving. Watson, who is known for her iconic role as Hermione Granger in the " Harry Potter" film franchise, has been banned from driving in the United Kingdom for six months, according to U.K. Press Association. The actress's driving ban stems from an incident in July of last year when Watson allegedly drove 38 mph in a 30 mph zone in Oxford, England, according to the PA. At a sentencing hearing Wednesday in the U.K., a judge added three points to Watson's license, which resulted in a ban that bars her from driving for six months. The actress had nine points on her license prior to the speeding incident, according to the PA. In the U.K., a six month driving ban can be issued if a driver accumulates 12 or more penalty points on their license within a three-year time period, according to the U.K. government's website. Watson, 35, was also ordered to pay a fine of 1,044 pounds -- approximately $1,400 -- at High Wycombe Magistrates' Court. Watson did not attend the hearing Wednesday. Her lawyer told the court the actress is a student and is, "in a position to pay the fine." A representative for Watson did not immediately reply to ABC News. Watson is currently a student at Oxford, where she's working toward a master's degree in creative writing, according to the BBC. Watson portrayed Hermione Granger in all eight "Harry Potter" movies alongside Daniel Radcliffe and Rupert Grint, subsequently starring in a number of films including "The Perks of Being a Wallflower," "This Is the End," "Colonia," "Beauty and the Beast" and "The Circle." In 2019, she starred as Meg March in the Greta Gerwig-directed film "Little Women" alongside Timothée Chalamet, Saoirse Ronan, Eliza Scanlen, Florence Pugh, Laura Dern, Meryl Streep and more.
Yahoo
19-06-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Middlesex County doctor also sexually assaulted patients in Monmouth, Essex, AG says
A Middlesex County doctor previously charged with multiple counts of sexual contact with patients is facing additional charges following a state investigation. Dr. Gurvindra Johal, 57, of Colonia, has been charged with two counts of second-degree sexual assault, 11 counts of fourth-degree criminal sexual contact, and one count each of fourth-degree falsifying or tampering with records and destruction, falsification, or alteration of records pertaining to medical care, state Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin announced. Johal was charged in 2023 with sexual misconduct at Amboy Urgent Care in Perth Amboy. The new additional charges include three alleged crimes in Essex County, and two patients allegedly assaulted in Monmouth County, according to the Attorney General's Office. Police began investigating allegations of criminal sexual contact by a victim who said her doctor, Johal, touched her inappropriately at Amboy Urgent Care. The investigation uncovered other victims who allegedly were similarly touched inappropriately at that facility, as well as victims that were allegedly sexually assaulted, according to Platkin. The investigation found additional victims of sexual assault and criminal sexual contact who were treated by Johal at an urgent care facility in Newark, as well as victims of criminal sexual contact who were treated by at a facility in Freehold, Platkin said. 'This case illustrates the importance of cooperation with local law enforcement, as we were able to identify a serial offender who violated patients' trust across county lines,' stated Division of Criminal Justice Director Theresa Hilton. 'Taking advantage of the doctor-patient relationship for sexual gratification, as is charged in this case, is completely unacceptable and will be met with the full force of our office.' Johal has also been charged with filing a false statement in a letter to an insurance carrier in response to the carrier's investigation of inappropriate touching claims and allegedly altering medical records after the fact to indicate that a medical assistant was present in the room during an examination, which was not part of the original medical record. Second-degree charges carry a sentence of 5 to 10 years in state prison and a fine of up to $150,000. Fourth-degree offenses could lead to up to 18 months in state prison and a fine of up to $10,000. This article originally appeared on Middlesex NJ doctor sexually assaulted patients in Monmouth, Essex: AG
Reuters
13-06-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Minerva to sell Uruguayan plant for $48 million to ease antitrust worries in broad deal
SAO PAULO, June 13 (Reuters) - Brazilian meatpacker Minerva ( opens new tab said on Friday it signed a contract to sell the Colonia plant in Uruguay to Allana for $48 million, as part of its efforts to get antitrust approval for the purchase of other two plants in the country. Minerva has proposed to Uruguay's watchdog Coprodec to sell one of the three plants it wishes to buy from Marfrig ( opens new tab - the Colonia unit - immediately following the deal, after the regulator blocked Minerva's acquisition of the three assets last year.
