El Ciudadano
Original article: “Acto de impunidad”: AFEP denuncia que Justicia abre paso a beneficios carcelarios para represores de la dictadura
In what is being termed an «act of impunity», the Association of Families of Executed Political Prisoners (AFEP) has denounced actions and instructions issued by the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights, which are «explicitly aimed at favoring the granting of prison benefits to those convicted of crimes against humanity» committed during the regime of Augusto Pinochet’s dictatorship.
In a public statement, the group reported on repressive figures who have eluded justice for years and who currently, «under the pretext of their advanced age or health conditions, seek to avoid compliance with final and enforceable convictions.»
The denouncement, which expresses «deep concern, shock, and indignation,» targets Justice and Human Rights Minister Fernando Rabat. According to gathered evidence, he allegedly instructed through the Chief of the Human Rights Program, Constanza Garrido, that lawyers in the division should abstain from intervening in amparo resources and requests for reduced sentences.
«This has involved the withdrawal of previously filed appeals and the prohibition on arguing cases in which they were previously involved,» warned AFEP, reminding that the current Minister of Justice and Human Rights participated as a lawyer in the defense of dictator Augusto Pinochet in several legal cases, including the Riggs case.
According to the group, the consequences of such instructions are extremely serious, as they limit and restrict one of the essential functions of the Human Rights Program, which is «the defense and promotion of human rights» and also neutralize «the valuable work of their lawyers, who have the absolute and total recognition of the victims of human rights violations that occurred during the military dictatorship, whose defense was precisely the responsibility of the current Justice Minister Fernando Rabat.»
«We denounce this situation as it constitutes an act of impunity, particularly in a context where there are still over 400 open cases,» the public statement noted.
AFEP stated that the directives coming from the Ministry of Justice «not only raise legal concerns but could also create an illegal scenario, revealing a troubling abandonment of duties by the State» and warned that in practice, it would be favoring those convicted of serious human rights violations, including: «César Manríquez Bravo, a Dina agent convicted of various crimes in the so-called Colombo Operation; Héctor Osses, a Carabinero officer convicted of multiple homicides in the San Gregorio neighborhood; and Jorge Mandiola, a CNI agent, convicted of various homicides in the so-called Alfa Carbón Operation.»
They highlighted that in each of these cases, Rabat’s orders have instructed Human Rights Program lawyers to abandon actions intended to ensure the effective compliance with sentences, «which severely undermines the rights of the victims.»
In light of this situation, members of the association requested judicial authorities to consider the absence of the Human Rights Program’s presence as a situation that affects the bilateral maneuver principle of the hearing, the victims’ right to be heard, and, ultimately, due process,» which falls within a «policy of impunity that the courts cannot and should not participate in.»
Simultaneously, they called on the Office of the Comptroller General of the Republic to address the legality of the instructions from the Justice Ministry, «in light of potential contradictions with the obligations of the State arising from human rights and Article 5 of the Political Constitution, which stipulates that State bodies must respect and promote the essential rights guaranteed both in the Constitution and in applicable international treaties.»
In closing the statement, AFEP reaffirmed its profound commitment to the defense of Human Rights, truth, justice, and reparations.
La entrada AFEP Raises Alarm Over Justice Ministry’s Alleged Support for Prison Benefits for Dictatorship Offenders se publicó primero en El Ciudadano.
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