Pablo Neruda speaks to journalists after winning the Nobel Prize for Literature. Paris, October 21, 1971 (AP Photo/Laurent Rebours, File)
On Tuesday, the Court of Appeal of Santiago de Chile ordered the reopening of the trial in connection with the death of the poet, politician and Nobel Prize winner for literature Pablo Neruda, who died on September 23, 1973 under unclear circumstances. The death certificate stated that Neruda died of prostate cancer. However, over the past fifty years, some of his relatives and acquaintances have claimed that he was actually killed because of his opposition to the regime of Augusto Pinochet, who seized power in Chile in a coup twelve days before his death.
The case into Neruda's death has been reopened to determine whether his death was caused by causes related to his illness or by poisoning, according to a study conducted by a group of researchers from McMaster University in Canada and the University of Copenhagen. Denmark. The three appeals court judges said they had granted the request to continue the investigation by the poet's family and the Chilean Communist Party, adding that the investigations carried out so far had not proven to be “exhaustive.”
In particular, the justices ordered seven procedures that they said “could help clarify the facts,” including a handwritten examination of Neruda's death certificate and a review of the conclusions of the researchers who conducted the study. The court also ordered the questioning of Eduardo Arriagada Rehren, a doctor and retired army officer who previously testified in the case and was convicted in 2021 of the murder of Archivaldo Morales, a communist-sympathizing radio host.
– Also read: Was Pablo Neruda killed?
Continue with the post