The Fourth Oral Criminal Trial Court of Santiago has issued a condemnatory verdict against Carabineros captain Tomás Pablo Rodríguez Soriano, for the crime of illegitimate coercion committed in October 2019 in the city center.
In a unanimous resolution, the court, composed of judges Erick Aravena Ibarra (president), Valeria Vega Sepúlveda and Cristián Soto Galdames (editor), has determined the guilt of Rodríguez Soriano in the events, considering them as an act of torture.
According to the court, the incident occurred shortly before 7:53 p.m. on October 18, 2019, when Captain Rodríguez Soriano was at the intersection of Libertador Bernardo O’Higgins Avenue (Alameda) and Doctor Ramón Corvalán Street, in full exercise of their functions as part of a police force.
In this context, Rodríguez Soriano fired a riot shotgun at an approaching protester, seriously wounding María Paz Grandjean in the face. The young woman suffered injuries that included maxillofacial trauma, malar and mandibular hematoma, among others.
The court’s ruling considers these acts as illegitimate coercion, defined in article 150 D of the Penal Code, and qualifies them as an act of torture. The responsibility falls on Rodríguez Soriano as the perpetrator of the crime, as established in article 15 No. 1 of the same Code.
The hearing for the communication of the sentence is scheduled for 11 a.m. next Wednesday, April 17, with Judge Soto Galdames being in charge of writing it.
This case highlights the importance of respecting human rights and due process in all levels of justice. The conviction for illegitimate coercion, considered torture, underscores the need for security forces to act responsibly and within the framework of the law at all times.
