Updated

Chile's former army chief is acknowledging he handed over to nuns the child of two left-wing activists killed after the 1973 military coup.

Juan Emilio Cheyre now heads Chile's electoral service. He told the newspaper El Mercurio on Tuesday that he gave 2-year-old Ernesto Lejderman to a convent. In his first time speaking publicly about the case, he said he was just following orders.

Lejderman was raised by his grandparents in Argentina. He says Cheyre shouldn't face charges. But human rights group are calling for Cheyre to quit his electoral post.

Lejderman's parents sought to escape with their son after Gen. Augusto Pinochet's coup but were killed by a military patrol on the outskirts of a northern city.

Chile's government estimates 3,095 people were killed during Pinochet's 1973-90 dictatorship.