SANTIAGO, Chile (AP) – After only two days of debate, Congress overwhelmingly passed a government-sponsored bill compensating 28,000 former political prisoners under the dictatorship of General Augusto Pinochet, most of them torture victims.

Even conservative lawmakers who support Pinochet voted in favour of the bill Tuesday night. Only two senators who are retired from the military were opposed.

The legislation grants monthly pensions of 112,000 pesos (US$190; euro142) to the victims, as well as education, health, and housing benefits. The pension, described as “symbolic” by President Ricardo Lagos, is slightly less than the minimum wage.

Some torture victims and their relatives protested for more generous benefits during the vote and were removed from the chamber by police. Left-wing legislators sought higher benefits but eventually agreed to the government-proposed text.

The bill, with an estimated annual cost of 4.1 billion pesos (US$70 million; euro53 million), is expected to be signed into law by Lagos in the next few days.

Lagos announced the plan last month following the release of a gruesome report on torture during Pinochet’s 1973-90 regime prepared by a commission that heard testimony from more than 35,000 people.