Amnesty International Report 2000 - Chile

Head of state and government: Eduardo Frei Ruiz-Tagle
Capital: Santiago
Population: 14.6 million
Official language: Spanish
Death penalty: retentionist

There were reports of ill-treatment of detainees by prison guards and of excessive use of force by the police against demonstrators. Legal proceedings concerning past human rights violations continued in Chile and abroad. Human rights defenders were subjected to death threats. Three people were sentenced to death.

Background

Presidential elections were held in December, but none of the candidates obtained the number of votes required by the Political Constitution to become president. The two candidates with the highest number of votes – Ricardo Lagos of the Coalition for Democracy party and Joaquin Lavín of the Alliance for Chile – were due to contest a second round in January 2000.

In July a law decriminalizing homosexuality was passed. In September Congress approved the State Prosecutor's Organic Constitutional Law providing for the creation of a State Prosecutor's Office. The law is part of the Criminal Procedure Reforms, aimed at replacing the current inquisitorial system with an adversarial one, which were due to take effect gradually with a pilot plan to be implemented in the regions of Coquimbo and La Araucanía in December 2000.

Torture and ill-treatment

There were reports of ill-treatment of detainees by prison guards.

• In February there were reports that political prisoners were ill-treated by prison guards during the transfer of 56 prisoners from the Colina I prison to Colina II prison. Inmates were reportedly thrown to the ground, beaten with fists and rifle butts, and doused with water and tear gas. There were reports that at least two were tortured with an electric prod and some others had their heads forced under water; all were handcuffed at the time. There was particular concern for the health of Marcelo Gaete Mancilla and Dante Ramirez Soto who suffered serious head injuries. Lawyers acting for the families of the prisoners filed a habeas corpus writ and a criminal complaint before the courts in Santiago. A request filed before the Appeal Court for the appointment of a special judge was rejected.

Demonstrations

There were reports of excessive use of force by police in the context of demonstrations.

• In May Daniel Nicolas Menco Prieto, a student, died as a result of gunshot wounds. He had been shot by a police officer during a student demonstration in the city of Arica. Three other students were also injured in the same incident. Reports indicated that the officer who fired the shot was suspended from active duty. The case was transferred to the military justice system.
• Demonstrators and police officers were injured and two people killed in disputed circumstances in separate incidents in September during demonstrations in Santiago to mark the 26th anniversary of the military coup led by General Augusto Pinochet. At least four demonstrators sustained bullet wounds and a baby died, allegedly as a result of inhaling tear gas from canisters thrown by police officers to disperse the demonstration.

Past human rights violations

The Chilean authorities continued their efforts to obtain the release of former General Augusto Pinochet. He had been arrested in London, United Kingdom (UK), in October 1998 following a request for his extradition by the Spanish government in connection with human rights violations committed under his government (1973 to 1990). (See pages 14 to 17 for further details.) In July a communication from the Chilean Foreign Minister to his Spanish counterpart proposed an agreement to send the Pinochet case to international arbitration through the International Court of Justice. At the end of June, the US administration declassified and made public over 5,000 documents related to human rights violations committed in Chile between 1973 and 1978. In Chile, judicial proceedings continued and an increasing number of lawsuits were filed against Augusto Pinochet in relation to human rights violations committed during his military government. A number of high-ranking officers were placed under arrest in connection with individual cases reopened by the courts relating to killings and "disappearances" during the same period.

Legal proceedings in the UK

International legislation was put to the test during the legal proceedings against Augusto Pinochet in the UK. In March, seven Law Lords ruled by a majority of six to one that Augusto Pinochet did not have immunity from prosecution for acts of torture committed when he was head of state and that he could be extradited, on the reduced charges of torture and conspiracy to torture alleged to have been committed after 8 December 1988. Extradition hearings started in September, and in October the magistrate hearing the case ordered the committal allowing for the extradition of Augusto Pinochet to proceed on 35 cases of torture or conspiracy to torture after 8 December 1988 and the continuing cases of torture resulting from 1,198 "disappearances" submitted by the Spanish judge Baltasar Garzón. Augusto Pinochet's lawyers filed an appeal against this decision which was scheduled to be heard in the High Court in March 2000. In November the UK Home Office asked for Augusto Pinochet to undergo independent medical tests following a request by the Chilean government that he be released on health grounds; these were scheduled to take place in January 2000.

Legal proceedings in Chile

Following his arrest in the UK, 40 lawsuits were filed in the Chilean courts against Augusto Pinochet in relation to cases of past human rights violations. Investigations into these lawsuits were initiated. However, in August the Fifth Court of Appeals rejected the judicial request to include Augusto Pinochet in the investigation into the case of 72 people killed during a military operation in 1973 in the north of the country known as the "Caravan of Death". In its ruling the Fifth Court of Appeals stated that, according to the Constitution, Augusto Pinochet's parliamentary immunity excluded him from such an investigation.

Amnesty Law

In July the Supreme Court reinterpreted the 1978 Amnesty Law, ruling that it could not be applied in cases of 19 people who "disappeared" during the "Caravan of Death" operation . The ruling established that, because the 19 bodies were never recovered, their deaths could not be legally certified. Under Chilean law kidnapping is an ongoing offence until such time as the person is found. The Supreme Court, therefore, ruled that none of the accused could benefit from the Amnesty Law. Five army officers were arrested and charged with "aggravated kidnapping".

Intergovernmental organizations

In March the UN Human Rights Committee included in its concluding observations that the constitutional arrangements made as part of the political agreements for the transition to civilian rule hindered full implementation of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights by Chile. The Committee stressed that internal political constraints cannot serve as a justification for a state's non-compliance with its international obligations under the Covenant. The Committee also underlined other areas of concern including: the 1978 Amnesty Law, reiterating that such a law was incompatible with the duties of a State party; continuing reports of torture; and the wide jurisdiction of the military courts.

In September, Chile withdrew its reservations under Article 30 of the UN Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, thus allowing international arbitration to be contemplated.

In November, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights of the Organization of American States concluded that Chile had violated the rights to personal freedom and to life and integrity of Carmelo Soria, a UN official who had been kidnapped, tortured and killed in 1976. The Commission reiterated that Chile had violated its international obligations by applying the Amnesty Law in this case and recommended that, if the Chilean state could not fulfil its obligation to punish those found responsible, it should allow universal jurisdiction to be implemented.

Human rights defenders

Death threats against human rights defenders, particularly members of organizations established by relatives of victims of past human rights violations, became a regular pattern. Members of the Agrupación de Familiares de Detenidos Desaparecidos, Association of Relatives of the Disappeared, and of the Corporación de Promoción y Defensa de los Derechos del Pueblo, Committee for the Defence of the Rights of the People, were repeatedly subjected to anonymous threats. In some cases police protection was provided by the authorities, but there was no progress in investigations into complaints about these threats.

Death penalty

Three men were sentenced to death during 1999. Two of them, Hugo Gómez Padua and Rubén Millatureo Vargas, had their sentences commuted to life imprisonment in November and December respectively, and one was awaiting the outcome of his appeal at the end of the year.

AI country reports

• United Kingdom: The Pinochet case – universal jurisdiction and the absence of immunity for crimes against humanity (AI Index: EUR 45/001/99)
• Chile: Torture, an international crime – even one torture victim is one too many (AI Index: AMR 22/010/99)
• Chile: A human rights review based on the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (AI Index: AMR 22/013/99) .