Chile: Constituents Seek Amnesty's Plea for Political Prisoners

Chile's Constituent Assembly debated on Monday an amnesty bill for political prisoners arrested during the 2019 social unrest, a critical move defended by several constituents, including Chile's Communist Party members.

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The Constituent Assembly president-elect and Mapuche professor Elisa Loncon remarked on Sunday that  "with jailed youth, with jailed Mapuche, you cannot live democracy," as she confirmed it is one of the main issues the constituents have to discuss.

Further, the lawyer and assembly's vice-president Jaime Bassa explained that he "could not decree the freedom of the prisoners of the revolt, but I can ask for it, I can send a communication to Congress to speed up the processing of the bill," remarking that they will press "in all spaces necessary, political and institutional so that those deprived of liberty recover it."

However, the right-wing constituents have opposed the demand for amnesty, arguing that there are no political prisoners and the judicial powers are already ruling over those imprisoned after October 18, 2019.

According to the Institute of Human Rights of Chile (INDH), there are at least 2,500 in jail, arrested during the social outbreak between October 2009 and March 2020. Most experts highlight that these Chileans have remained more time in preventive prison than the penalties they could be punished with.