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Piñera is accused of crimes against humanity committed in a widespread and systematic manner since the social outbreak of October 2019.
Former Spanish judge Baltasar Garzón, the Chilean Human Rights Commission (CHDH), the American Association of Jurists (AAJ) and the Centro di Ricerca ed Elaborazione per la Democrazia (CRED), on Thursday requested the International Criminal Court (ICC) to investigate, indict and initiate a trial against Chilean President Sebastian Piñera.
According to a brief sent to the ICC Prosecutor General, lawyer Fatou Bensouda, prosecuting Piñera and his civilian, military and police collaborators becomes imperative for "crimes against humanity" that have been "committed in a widespread and systematic manner" since October 2019.
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The promoters of the case argue that "the events that took place after the social outburst (of that year) have the category (...) of crimes against humanity."
They also want to "highlight the impunity that is being experienced in Chile", where, according to them, 3,050 cases of institutional violence associated with the social outbreak were closed.
The document argues that the ICC must intervene because in that South American nation these cases are wrongly and deliberately classified as common crimes.
Ex Spanish judge Baltasar Garzón and the Chilean Commission on Human Rights have accused Chile's president Sebastian Piñera of crimes against humanity at the International Criminal Court in the Hague, Holland. @telesurenglish @teleSURtv @PaoladrateleSUR https://t.co/BwnatJwr3B
— Pablo Navarrete (@pablo_telesur) April 29, 2021
The text adds that this is an attempt to "remove them from the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court and (...) prepare the conditions that would favor their subsequent impunity with the eventual application of the statute of limitations, or through the application of possible pardons, amnesties or period laws."
In addition, it was denounced that the State agencies in charge of investigating and judging, such as the Public Prosecutor's Office and the Judiciary, have had an unjustified delay in the substantiation of these processes and their actions do not have the necessary independence and impartiality and due respect for the principle of equality before the law.
According to the president of the CHDH, lawyer Carlos Margotta, the request for a trial at the ICC seeks to sanction the highest Chilean authorities, including the successive ministers of the Interior and Defense, as well as the general directors of the Carabineros.
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