El Ciudadano
Original article: Programa de Derechos Humanos: Instructivo e impunidad
The Ministry of Justice has directed the Human Rights Program and its lawyers not to appear in court when individuals convicted of human rights violations seek to alter or reduce their sentences.
For the Corporation for the Promotion and Defense of the People’s Rights (Codepu), such an administrative act, which «has not been justified or reported, becomes an illegal and arbitrary action.»
«Administrative actions must also be transparent and communicated, as this is the only way for society and human rights defense organizations to fulfill their roles in demanding accountability,» stated Codepu lawyer Mariela Santana.
On April 21, relatives and survivors of Operation Alfa Carbón, executed by the National Intelligence Center (CNI) between August 23 and 24, 1984, which resulted in the deaths of seven people in Concepción, Los Ángeles, and Valdivia due to fabricated confrontations, issued a public statement expressing their alarm and denouncing a series of maneuvers benefiting the perpetrators.
After recounting their long struggle for justice, they highlighted the attempts by the perpetrators to delay the enforcement of their sentences in a ruling recently handed down in March 2024—four decades after the crimes were committed. This delay occurred despite facing numerous obstacles to the investigation by the judiciary.
Notably, Jorge Camilo Mandiola Arredondo, the regional head of CNI Concepción, who has been sentenced to 15 years but may serve less than two years in prison, has already requested the court to suspend his sentence in favor of house arrest, according to reports from families and survivors.
Additionally, the report indicates that under directives from the Executive and the Ministry of Justice, led by Fernando Rabat, the Human Rights Program and its lawyers were instructed not to argue in cases where those convicted of crimes against humanity request freedom or other benefits.
Families and survivors of the dictatorial Operation Alfa Carbón assert that through this channel, «it is no longer even necessary to manage pardons, with all that this could imply for this government and its President,» as these are effectively made possible by prohibiting judicial actions from human rights lawyers, «facilitating that perpetrators of crimes against humanity do not serve their sentences.»
It is important to remember that one of President José A. Kast’s pledges is to make every possible effort, including exercising the presidential power to pardon agents of the state responsible for human rights violations.
Furthermore, the Protocol of Action for the Human Rights Program, signed by the Undersecretariat of Human Rights on May 15, 2017, states that the legal area must intervene in actions brought by those responsible for serious human rights violations, especially if they have not fully cooperated with justice, are condemned in multiple judicial cases, or when it generates a sense of impunity regarding the enforcement of their sentences.
Human rights lawyers have denounced this situation, noting that such administrative decisions have a significant impact on families, and the Alfa Carbón case is not the only instance where the intervention of the Human Rights Program has been prohibited. Similar situations occurred in Operation Colombo and in the case of the Substation of La Granja.
Questioning of Minister Rabat
During a meeting of the Senate Human Rights Commission, Codepu lawyer Mariela Santana questioned Minister Rabat regarding this situation. There was no response at that time.
«The state has an unavoidable obligation to investigate, prosecute, and penalize those responsible for human rights violations, and when its institutional practices serve as factors of impunity, the state becomes complicit, violating the San José Pact,» explained the lawyer.
So far, she added, «no justification for the authority’s decision to instruct the Human Rights Program and its lawyers to cease participation in fulfilling the sentences of the convicted has been provided.»
According to lawyer Santana, «the argument that the Protocol is under review does not exempt compliance, as they are failing in their legal duty, and they are also neglecting the international commitments of the State of Chile.»
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The Citizen
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