El Ciudadano
Original article: El perdón pendiente del Ejército: defensa del excapitán Harvey exige disculpas por víctimas de Operación Topógrafo
Attorney Francisco Ugás Tapia, representing former Army captain Rafael Harvey, has made a demand that goes beyond the court’s ruling: the military institution must apologize to each of the 14 victims of Operation Topographer, conducted between 2016 and 2018.
This request follows a landmark decision from the Seventh Court of Guarantee in Santiago, which sentenced two former high-ranking officials to five years in prison for ideological falsehood and telecommunications violations, in a case that shook the foundations of Chilean democracy.
During the reading of the verdict that determined the culpability of Juan Manuel Poblete, former Minister of the Appeals Court in Santiago and former president of the Appeals Court in Copiapó, and Schafik Nazal, former Director of Army Intelligence, both were found guilty as co-authors of offenses related to violations of the General Telecommunications Law and repeated ideological falsification of public documents. The offenses were committed against former captain Harvey, journalist Mauricio Weibel, and 12 other victims in the notorious Operation Topographer, which investigated illegal telephone interceptions targeting journalists, corruption whistleblowers, and former military officials.
Attorney Ugás praised the ruling as a historic moment in Chile’s judicial history, emphasizing that “both convicted individuals criminally exploited their positions, functions, the intelligence system, and the legal frameworks in place to commit these crimes.”
For the legal representative, this ruling marks “a significant milestone in our democracy, contributing to the fight against corruption.”
During the hearing, Judge Freddy Cubillos announced the imposed sentences: five years of minor imprisonment at the maximum degree for both defendants as co-authors of repeated offenses against Article 36 B, letter c) of Law No. 18.168 (General Telecommunications Law) and repeated crimes of ideological falsification of public documents, covered under Article 193 No. 4 of the Criminal Code. Despite this, the imprisonment was substituted with intensive supervised release, accompanied by a mandatory course on the understanding, respect, and promotion of human rights, which Ugás highlighted as essential for the rehabilitation of the convicted.
Harvey’s legal representative stressed that “the State and criminal law must contribute to the education and rehabilitation of criminals of this nature, instilling in them the most humane of all disciplines: human rights.” This perspective underscores the restorative vision that, according to the attorney, should prevail in high-profile corruption cases.
In his statements, Ugás remarked that “this ruling, furthermore, serves as a significant reference to our society, particularly to those who have committed such crimes, indicating that the Democratic Rule of Law will always respond energetically against those who exploit the State as officials to violate the human rights and fundamental guarantees of individuals.”
With these words, the lawyer projected the ruling beyond the specific case, establishing it as a precedent for future processes against institutional abuse.
The Army Must Apologize to the Victims of Operation Topographer as a Measure of Redress
Ugás has also issued a direct call for the Chilean Army to publicly apologize to the victims of Operation Topographer, an episode that exposed how high-ranking officials used State resources and personnel under their command to illegally harass and pursue those who raised their voices to report irregular practices and acts of corruption.
. “I believe that although these individuals were the ones convicted, they acted as integral parts of their institutions, using public resources and personnel to commit their crimes,” reflected the legal chief of Caucoto Abogados.
“I consider it valuable for the Chilean Army, as a measure of redress, to apologize to each of the 14 victims of this episode”, as well as to the honest institutional officials who, at the time, represented the illegality of what was happening and were not heard, as established in the investigation.
Thus, Ugás’s demand for an apology aims at a symbolic compensation that recognizes the harm caused and restores trust in an institution that must uphold legality and respect for human rights.
The ruling and the statements from Harvey’s representative leave a crucial question open: Will the Army assume its share of institutional responsibility beyond the individual convictions? While criminal justice has acted, the public apology remains a pending debt that, according to the defense, would be an essential step to heal the wounds of a dark chapter in Chile’s recent history. Ugás’s demand resonates as a reminder that comprehensive redress for victims is not limited to court sentences but requires ethical and moral acknowledgment from the very institutions that failed to protect those who reported corruption from within and offer guarantees of non-repetition.
La entrada Army’s Pending Apology: Ex-Captain Harvey’s Defense Demands Accountability for Victims of Operation Topographer se publicó primero en El Ciudadano.
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