Flandez, who worked in a company in the capital’s Puente Alto district, was arrested on September 12, 1973 and taken first to the Chile Stadium and then to the National Stadium, where he was subjected to long periods of torture and kept there until December 21.

In March 1974 he was arrested again and interned in the Cerro Chena military compound, where he suffered permanent physical sequelae from the beatings, including a hernia.

His home was also raided by the military, who stole property and money and expelled his pregnant wife and children into the street.

Flandez had to flee to Argentina and later moved his family there, where his wife died in 1978.

After establishing that the former union leader was the victim of a crime against humanity, the court ordered the Treasury to pay him 80 million pesos (US$84,000) in compensation for moral damages.

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