In Chile, Hope Is Reborn in 30-Year Quest for Justice

"Our military personnel are stoic people," said Manns. "Here, the only social scandal is to not apply the law, and to make mistakes in its interpretation in order to right the wrongs of the past."

But many families have been waiting 30 years for justice.

Ximena Campos Barra straightened a crinkled plastic bag so she could better see the faded black and white photograph behind it.

"There he is. My little brother, Eduardo Campos," she said, unpinning the photo from her gray wool sweater that she takes to protests and to court proceedings.

Campos's brother was detained by the military in 1973. She and the rest of her family sought exile in Canada in 1975.

She said her brother's remains were identified in 1994, with the discovery of a mass grave. But she said the uncertainty of his fate continues to haunt her.

"My parents died never knowing . . . I find this the most perverse torture that you can inflict on a family," Campos said, adding that the recent developments in the Chilean courts are, however, giving her renewed hope that her brother's killers could yet be convicted.

This is the first case related to deaths and disappearances during the dictatorship to reach the Supreme Court, providing new hope to the families of victims.

"It would be a precedent," said Drouilly, admitting she is suffering from insomnia from the weight of this case. "This has me very scared. I'm coming undone. I have so much anxiety over it."

Campos, Drouilly and others say the promise of justice is worth going through yet another legal process as they hope for closure.