Cedomil Lausic Glasinovic
Encyclopedia
Cedomil Lausic Glasinovic (July 16, 1946 - April 3, 1975) was a Chilean agronomist
and prominent member of the Marxist-Leninist MIR
organisation in Chile
.
Lausic Glasinovic was born in the southern city of Punta Arenas in the Magallanes region of Chile
in 1946. As many young Chilean students of his time he become politically active in one of the main youth and left-wing organisation in Chile in the late 1960s and early 1970s - the MIR political organisation
. Lausic Glasinovic graduated in agronomy
from the University of Chile in 1970 and shortly after started to work in government funded agricultural projects.
Lausic Glasinovic remained in Chile
after the September 11, 1973 Chilean coup even though many of his comrades had been assassinated or had been subject to forced disappearance
s. The MIR organisation had also been proscribed and it became the object of extreme repression by the military and Pinochet's secret police
, DINA.
On April 3, 1975 Lausic Glasinovic, was arrested and taken to Villa Grimaldi
by DINA agents of the Pinochet regime. Here he was torture
d with electricity, and beaten with riffle butts. Those who saw Lausic Glasinovic whilst he was in Villa Grimaldi
bear testimony to the incident that caused his death. Lausic is said to have had an episode of madness before one of the torture
sessions he was subjected to and made an aborted attempt to escape from the prison before the eyes of the guards. In the process of running he attempted to assaulted a DINA agent. The disruption this caused in the prison led DINA to use the opportunity to make an example of him before his comrades and all the other political prisoners in Villa Grimaldi
. Lausic Glasinovic, who was very tall, young and fit, is said to have been brought into a room where his comrades were forced to congregate and watch as he was beaten with metal chains by a group of DINA agents until his body was bleeding, broken and he became unconscious. He was left with his comrades in a critical and agonizing state with his bruised, bleeding and broken body. Lausic was not given any medical attention and died alone in solitary confinement
several days later.
The torture centre in which he was murdered was transformed into a memorial for the victims of the Pinochet regime. Lausic Glasinovic's name is listed on the Wall of Names in the Park for Peace at Villa Grimaldi.
Agronomist
An agronomist is a scientist who specializes in agronomy, which is the science of utilizing plants for food, fuel, feed, and fiber. An agronomist is an expert in agricultural and allied sciences, with the exception veterinary sciences.Agronomists deal with interactions between plants, soils, and...
and prominent member of the Marxist-Leninist MIR
Revolutionary Left Movement (Chile)
Revolutionary Left Movement is a Chilean political party and former left-wing guerrilla organization founded on October 12, 1965...
organisation in Chile
Chile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
.
Lausic Glasinovic was born in the southern city of Punta Arenas in the Magallanes region of Chile
Chile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
in 1946. As many young Chilean students of his time he become politically active in one of the main youth and left-wing organisation in Chile in the late 1960s and early 1970s - the MIR political organisation
Revolutionary Left Movement (Chile)
Revolutionary Left Movement is a Chilean political party and former left-wing guerrilla organization founded on October 12, 1965...
. Lausic Glasinovic graduated in agronomy
Agronomy
Agronomy is the science and technology of producing and using plants for food, fuel, feed, fiber, and reclamation. Agronomy encompasses work in the areas of plant genetics, plant physiology, meteorology, and soil science. Agronomy is the application of a combination of sciences like biology,...
from the University of Chile in 1970 and shortly after started to work in government funded agricultural projects.
Lausic Glasinovic remained in Chile
Chile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
after the September 11, 1973 Chilean coup even though many of his comrades had been assassinated or had been subject to forced disappearance
Forced disappearance
In international human rights law, a forced disappearance occurs when a person is secretly abducted or imprisoned by a state or political organization or by a third party with the authorization, support, or acquiescence of a state or political organization, followed by a refusal to acknowledge the...
s. The MIR organisation had also been proscribed and it became the object of extreme repression by the military and Pinochet's secret police
Secret police
Secret police are a police agency which operates in secrecy and beyond the law to protect the political power of an individual dictator or an authoritarian political regime....
, DINA.
On April 3, 1975 Lausic Glasinovic, was arrested and taken to Villa Grimaldi
Villa Grimaldi
Villa Grimaldi was a complex of buildings used for the interrogation and torture of political prisoners by DINA, the Chilean secret police, during the government of Augusto Pinochet. The complex was located in Peñalolén, in the outskirts of Santiago, and was in operation from mid-1974 to mid-1978...
by DINA agents of the Pinochet regime. Here he was torture
Torture
Torture is the act of inflicting severe pain as a means of punishment, revenge, forcing information or a confession, or simply as an act of cruelty. Throughout history, torture has often been used as a method of political re-education, interrogation, punishment, and coercion...
d with electricity, and beaten with riffle butts. Those who saw Lausic Glasinovic whilst he was in Villa Grimaldi
Villa Grimaldi
Villa Grimaldi was a complex of buildings used for the interrogation and torture of political prisoners by DINA, the Chilean secret police, during the government of Augusto Pinochet. The complex was located in Peñalolén, in the outskirts of Santiago, and was in operation from mid-1974 to mid-1978...
bear testimony to the incident that caused his death. Lausic is said to have had an episode of madness before one of the torture
Torture
Torture is the act of inflicting severe pain as a means of punishment, revenge, forcing information or a confession, or simply as an act of cruelty. Throughout history, torture has often been used as a method of political re-education, interrogation, punishment, and coercion...
sessions he was subjected to and made an aborted attempt to escape from the prison before the eyes of the guards. In the process of running he attempted to assaulted a DINA agent. The disruption this caused in the prison led DINA to use the opportunity to make an example of him before his comrades and all the other political prisoners in Villa Grimaldi
Villa Grimaldi
Villa Grimaldi was a complex of buildings used for the interrogation and torture of political prisoners by DINA, the Chilean secret police, during the government of Augusto Pinochet. The complex was located in Peñalolén, in the outskirts of Santiago, and was in operation from mid-1974 to mid-1978...
. Lausic Glasinovic, who was very tall, young and fit, is said to have been brought into a room where his comrades were forced to congregate and watch as he was beaten with metal chains by a group of DINA agents until his body was bleeding, broken and he became unconscious. He was left with his comrades in a critical and agonizing state with his bruised, bleeding and broken body. Lausic was not given any medical attention and died alone in solitary confinement
Solitary confinement
Solitary confinement is a special form of imprisonment in which a prisoner is isolated from any human contact, though often with the exception of members of prison staff. It is sometimes employed as a form of punishment beyond incarceration for a prisoner, and has been cited as an additional...
several days later.
The torture centre in which he was murdered was transformed into a memorial for the victims of the Pinochet regime. Lausic Glasinovic's name is listed on the Wall of Names in the Park for Peace at Villa Grimaldi.