Chile’s Senate to Debate Pardon for Prisoners of Social Unrest

RIIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The Human Rights Committee of Chile’s Senate approved on Monday, Janury 25th, a legislative initiative that seeks to pardon, on humanitarian grounds, those detained during the social outbreaks that began in 2019.

The proposal was approved by three votes to two, with the support of the opposition senators who promoted the project, among them the president of the Senate, Adriana Muñoz, while the representatives of the right wing voted against it.

In previous sessions, the commission heard arguments in favor or against from the Judicial Branch, the National Prosecutor’s Office, the Public Defender’s Office, relatives of the prisoners and human rights organizations, among others.

The bill, presented by five opposition senators on December 10, takes into account all those who are still in prison or were charged or convicted in the framework of the social outbursts between October 17, 2019 and today.

Different instances differ in the number of prisoners, but at least dozens are still behind bars, some of them for more than a year in preventive detention, awaiting a judicial resolution.

According to the legislature’s regulation, the discussion and processing of this matter depends only on the Senate; to approve the initiative a qualified quorum is required, except for votes on terrorist crimes, for which two-thirds of the senators in office must approve the pardon.