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News > Chile

Red Cross Estimates 2,500 Injured in Chile’s Demonstrations

  • The Chilean National Institute of Human Rights has received reports of torture, abuse of power, beatings and detentions.

    The Chilean National Institute of Human Rights has received reports of torture, abuse of power, beatings and detentions. | Photo: Reuters

Published 3 November 2019
Opinion

The president of the Chilean Red Cross said that the number of people injured in protests doubles those that have been presented by the country's health authorities.

More than 2,000 people have been injured in recent weeks as a result of popular demonstrations in Chile, the President of the Chilean Red Cross Patricio Acosta informed Friday.

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"We have a thicker statistic than the one handled by the health authorities here in Chile. Our figures are double," explained Acosta, who added that he "can responsibly say that there are more than 2,500 to date."

The official explained that "there is a false figure, there is a hidden figure," because the Red Cross has treated many young people with gunshot wounds who at the time of being transferred to emergency centers refuse to go out of fear of being arrested.

Chilean Red Cross Intervention Team has actively participated in manifestations in Santiago de Chile providing first aid and psychosocial support to the community.

Until Friday night, the deadline for the most recent report from the National Institute of Human Rights (NIHR), the organization recorded that the number of people arrested and injured by police forces during demonstrations reached 1,574.

However, the director of the institution, Sergio Micco, warned that his observers have not been able to visit all the police stations and health centers in the country, which was ratified by Acosta with respect to other groups that provide help and whose figures are also unknown.

The president of the Chilean Red Cross also coincided with the NIHR’s denouncement of the proliferation of cases with loss of eyes, as a consequence of the shooting of pellets and rubber bullets by police against the demonstrators.

 [Last update] Figures compiled directly by the INDH in observations of demonstrations, police stations and hospitals from Oct. 17 to Nov. 1.

The health professional also said that on numerous occasions Red Cross personnel have been left without supplies to assist the victims of the repression since the institution was not prepared to deal with a situation of this magnitude.

According to a report published by the Undersecretary of the Interior this Sunday, based on the information provided by the Carabineros (police), 16 "serious events" were recorded in the last few hours; fires, broken glass, looting, damage to property and equipment, which implies an increase over the seven reported the previous day.

In addition, it was reported that three civilians and 10 members of the Armed Forces and police were injured, while 99 people were detained, which means a decrease compared to the 132 of the previous day.

Since protests began on Oct. 14 due to the rise in the price of the Santiago Metro ticket - a measure later annulled by President Sebastian Piñera - the INDH has received reports of torture, abuses of power, beatings, and detentions of civilians by military personnel.

So far, the Government's official list of deceased is 23 dead, five of them at the hands of members of the Armed Forces and Carabineros.

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