Estimated reading time: 1 minute, 51 seconds
Five years after the 2019 social revolution, the formal hearing against the former Carabineros general leaders finally began. Mario Rozas and Ricardo Yánezalong with former assistant director Diego Olate. The senior officials are accused by the North Central Prosecutor’s Office of illegal coercion crimes with negligence, due to their role in the mass demonstrations in Chile. This trial represents an important milestone in the search for justice for the thousands of victims of police violence.
According to the Public Ministry, the former generals did not take the necessary measures to prevent the violation of the human rights of the activists. High Complexity Prosecutor, Ximena Chongaccused that several citizens were victims of police brutality during the revolution under the leadership of these officers. Among the allegations, the use of riot control weapons stands out, including pellet guns and gas rifles, which have caused serious injuries, eye injuries and, in some cases, death. National and international organizations have defined all these actions as a violation of the human rights of the victims.
During the hearing, prosecutor Chong revealed that the number of alleged victims of Rozas, Yáñez and Olate amounts to 299, although this number is lower than the more than a thousand victims of the expected first. Among the special cases are serious injuries caused by projectiles such as pellets or tear gas, which left dozens of people with irreparable damage.
That was one of the first issues mentioned Freddy Prattswho lost his sight after being hit by a tear gas gun in Almagro Park. Like him, almost 60 victims suffered eye injuries, among them Gustavo Gatica and the grandfather Fabiola Campillai. Both have become symbols of the fight for justice against police violence in Chile.
The trial will also address the case of Gustavo Gatica, who was left completely blind after being hit by projectiles fired by former police officer Claudio Crespo in November 2019. -deliberate and outside the rules of the use of force. Chong explained that the shots that injured Gatica were fired at close range and aimed at the third part of his body, which adversely affected his vision.
Rodrigo BustosA representative of Amnesty International, about the importance of this trial, says: “It is painful to listen to the intervention of Prosecutor Chong and her story about all the victims of police brutality. But it is necessary. And the three generals Rozas, Yáñez and Olate must be held accountable for their responsibility in these serious violations of human rights.
This judicial process aims to give a clear answer to the demands for justice of the thousands of people who have been victims of the violence of the state. Although the formal prosecution focuses on 299 cases, the effect of police repression during the social revolution affected a much larger number of people. This trial marks an important step towards accountability and compensation for victims, five years after one of the most tumultuous periods in Chile’s recent history.
The formality hearing is still going on, while the country is waiting for justice to be done for those who are still suffering the effects of police violence.
