Forty-year fight for justice by British woman whose brother was killed by Pinochet's thugs ends in victory as officers are jailed Michael Woodward disappeared in Chile, 1973 and is presumed murdered His younger sister Patricia Bennets spent 40 years fighting for justice Two former Pinochet naval officers sentenced to three years in prison Missing: Michael Woodward is presumed to have been murdered by Pinochet men in 1973 Two retired Chilean naval officers have been found guilty of kidnapping a British man - 40 years after the crime was committed. Michael Woodward disappeared in 1973 and is presumed to have been murdered. The 41-year-old Roman Catholic priest disappeared days after right-wing General Augusto Pinochet seized power in the South American country through a military coup in September 1973. Reports suggested he was arrested for his left-wing political beliefs and then taken on board the torture chambered ship Esmeralda, and killed. Mr Woodward's body has never been found. Jose Manuel Garcia Reyes and Hector Palomino Lopez were each sentenced on Monday to just three years in prison for kidnapping Michael Woodward. They may be allowed to serve the term under house arrest. Six other formal naval officers were acquitted by the court. The Chilean state was also ordered to pay Woodward's sister Patricia Bennetts 50million pesos (£68,000) - who has been fighting for justice for 40 years - in compensation. La Nacion reports that Woodward had an English father and a Chilean mother. Born in Chile in 1932, he was raised in the UK before returning to South America in the 1950s to enter the seminary to become a Priest. He eventually ended up working with the poor in the coastal city of Valparaiso. His family, in particular his younger sister Patricia, has spent 40 years searching for justice. Mystery: Mr Woodward disappeared days after General Augusto Pinochet, pictured left in September 1973 in Santiago, took power in a military coup The Santiago Times reports she pulled together evidence and it was through her own hard work she managed to create a timeline leading up to his horrific death. Victory: Patricia Bennetts has spent the last 40 years fighting for justice for her brother Michael Her investigations led to dozens of former naval officers being arrested and charged in 2008 in connection with her sibling's death. Some 19 of them were absolved in 2011 due to insufficient evidence. Despite the convictions, the Woodward family lawyer Juan Pablo Delgado told The Santiago Times that justice still had not been properly served. He said: "The penalties imposed on the convicted are laughable and absurd. They don't take into account the serious criminal context. And they don't realise that, within the legal system, one of the most serious crimes is kidnapping (resulting in death), according to article 141 of the criminal code. Delgado added that the defendants had a "low military rank" and so must have been acting on orders from above. Britain's Ambassador to Chile Jon Benjamin urged anyone with further information about who was behind the killing, or where Woodward's body was buried, to come forward. "The Woodward family, at a minimum, deserves a formal burial in order to find peace," he added.