Amnesty International Report 2004 - Chile

Covering events from January - December 2003

Prison conditions fell short of international standards and there were reports of ill-treatment of detainees. Two Mapuche leaders and a sympathizer were tried under "anti-terrorism" legislation.

President Ricardo Lagos put forward proposals to deal with past human rights violations.

Background

Indigenous people continued to press for reforms related to land and the upholding of their economic, social and cultural rights. There were further incidents between Mapuche indigenous people and the carabineros (uniformed police) in the context of land tenure and the commercial exploitation of timber in the south of the country. In the report of his visit to Chile in July, the UN Special Rapporteur on indigenous people underlined the marginalization of indigenous communities economically and socially as well as the criminalization of indigenous social protest movements through the use of "anti-terrorism" legislation. The Special Rapporteur recommended the judicial review of the case of two Mapuche community leaders.

Ill-treatment and prison conditions

There were reports of ill-treatment of prisoners by prison guards (gendarmeria). Prison conditions, including overcrowding, remained a matter of concern and some prisons failed to meet international standards. Lack of external control in the allocation of benefits to prisoners by prison authorities was recorded.

• In January, Jorge Espinola Robles and Marcelo Gaete Mancilla, political prisoners at the Colina II prison in the Metropolitan Region, were reported to have been severely beaten and dowsed with water by gendarmeria and the anti-riot unit Grupo Especial Antimotines de Gendarmeria. The two men were transferred to punishment cells even though they had not participated in the riot that had provoked the gendarmeria operation.

• The Former Penitentiary Prison in Santiago South was grossly overcrowded with more than 5,300 detainees held in facilities designed for 2,500. Some detainees in Block I had to sleep in the open air, and there was a lack of adequate sanitary facilities and maintenance. Although minors were housed in special blocks separated from adults, their separation was not guaranteed. In Temuco Prison in the IX Region, overcrowding led to the mixing of minors and adults in communal and services areas, and there was a lack of open spaces and facilities for children held with their mothers. In both prisons there was ineffective separation between sentenced prisoners and those awaiting trial.

Trial of Mapuche leaders

In March in the city of Angol, IX Region, the trial began of Segundo Aniceto Norín Catriman and Pascual Pichún Paillalao, both Mapuche community leaders, and of a Mapuche sympathizer, Patricia Troncoso. They were tried under an "anti-terrorism" law enacted during the military government on charges of "terrorist arson" and "threat of terrorist action". The court allowed evidence from two anonymous witnesses to be given from behind a screen with the voice distorted. All three defendants were acquitted of all charges owing to lack of evidence. However, an appeal against the verdict by the prosecution was accepted by the Supreme Court. After a retrial in September, the two men were acquitted of "terrorist arson" but were sentenced to five years and one day in prison for "terrorist threats". An appeal was lodged and rejected. Patricia Troncoso was acquitted of all charges.

Past human rights violations

The issue of past human rights violations continued to have a high political and legal profile throughout the year and legal proceedings against former members of the armed forces continued.

Government proposals

In August, President Lagos announced plans for dealing with the legacy of human rights violations committed during the military government (1973-1990). The proposals included: possible immunity from prosecution for people currently not charged or on trial who present themselves before courts to supply information on the whereabouts of victims or the circumstances of their "disappearance" or death; possible immunity from prosecution for military personnel who argued they were acting under orders; the transfer of all cases of human rights violations committed during the military government currently under trial in military courts to civil courts; and the establishment of a commission to examine cases of torture. The plans did not include the annulment of Decree Law 2191 of 1978, known as the Amnesty Law, which has obstructed the attainment of truth, justice and full reparations for victims, but instead proposed that courts continue to decide on the Amnesty Law's application. Human rights organizations, victims and relatives rejected the plans, arguing that they would fail to bring a complete end to impunity. In October, three draft bills based on the proposals were submitted to Congress.

Exhumations

In June the judge presiding at Santiago's 5th Criminal Court began the trial of five former members of the armed forces charged with illegally exhuming the remains of 14 people who had been taken from La Moneda presidential palace following the military coup of 11 September 1973. Reportedly, the remains were removed from a grave in the north of the Metropolitan Region in December 1978 and dumped in the sea. It was the first time that the crime of unlawful exhumation was prosecuted in Chile.

AI country visits

In March an AI delegation visited Chile and collected human rights data, raised concerns with government officials and met representatives of the human rights community. It attended the opening of the trial of two Mapuche leaders and a sympathizer.