Chilean Broad Front sues Piñera for crimes against humanity

In Chile, the political alliance, Frente Amplio/Broad Front (FA) is pressing charges for crimes against humanity targetting several top Chilean authorities, including President Sebastián Piñera after the events which unfolded during the social explosion which began in October last year.

The legal action also targets the Interior Minister, Gonzalo Blumel; the former head of that ministry, Andrés Chadwick; the mayor of the Metropolitan Region, Felipe Guevara and the general director of Carabineros de Chile (police), Mario Rozas.

The text points to these authorities as responsible for homicides, torture and unlawful physical, mental and sexual coercion, rape, illegal detention and severe eye injuries.

The former presidential candidate from the Frente Amplio, Beatriz Sánchez, explained that the action was taken after having presented constitutional interpellations and accusations in the Chamber of Deputies, which according to her, did not succeed.

"It seems that we have to keep climbing on the road and we will continue to pursue political and criminal responsibilities either in national or international courts," she said. The journalist added that "we in Frente Amplio had once said 'never again' so that it would be a “never again.”

The president of Partido Comunes, Javiera Toro, also said that "in recent months we have seen the result of a very sad legacy that we have in Chile, the violations of human rights that we lived under the dictatorship, unfortunately, did not achieve total justice, and that today these repressive practices return as ways to silence the people.

Following that line, Catalina Perez, president of the Revolucion Democratica party, emphasized that now "the court of law will determine who is responsible" for these violations. "Today, we have the duty to ensure that these situations do not happen again in the country," the lawmaker added.