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1999 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices

Released by the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor
U.S. Department of State, February 25, 2000

CHILE

Chile is a multiparty democracy with a constitution that provides for a strong executive and a
bicameral legislature. Approved by referendum in 1980 and amended in 1989, the Constitution
was written under the former military government and establishes institutional limits on popular
rule. President Eduardo Frei, a Christian Democrat, began his 6-year term in 1994, which
expires in March 2000. At that time, Ricardo Lagos, winner of the January 16, 2000,
presidential runoff election, is to take office. International and domestic observers found both the
December 12 presidential elections and the subsequent runoff election to be free and fair. The
National Congress consists of 120 deputies and 48 senators. The government coalition of four
major parties controlled the lower house. An opposition coalition, including several independents
and many of the 10 nonelected Senators, shared control in the upper chamber, although the
Senate president was from the ruling coalition. Former President General Augusto Pinochet
assumed a lifetime Senate seat in March 1998. Turnover in the courts continued to diminish
strongly the influence of military-era appointees over the constitutionally independent judicial
branch.

The armed forces are constitutionally subordinate to the President through an appointed Minister
of Defense but enjoy a large degree of legal autonomy. Most notably, the President must have
the concurrence of the National Security Council, which consists of military and civilian officials,
to remove service chiefs. The Carabineros (the uniformed national police) have primary
responsibility for public order, safety, and border security. The civilian Investigations Police are
responsible for criminal investigations and immigration control. Both organizations--although
formally under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Defense, which prepares their budgets--are
under operational control of the Ministry of Interior. The security forces, mainly the police,
committed a number of human rights abuses.

The export-led free-market economy experienced its first setback after years of expansion.
Growth moderated and final figures were expected to show a contraction of 1.1 percent for the
year, with inflation at 2.3 percent. The most important export remained copper; salmon, forestry
products, fresh fruit, fish meal, and manufactured goods also were significant sources of foreign
exchange. Unemployment averaged 10.8 percent for the year. From 1987 to 1998, the
percentage of the population living below the poverty line decreased from 45 to 22 percent.
Annual per capita gross domestic product was approximately $4,500.

The Government generally respected its citizens' human rights; however, problems remained in
some areas. The most serious cases involved killings, torture, brutality, police use of excessive
force, and physical abuse in jails and prisons. The due process rights of detainees were not
always respected. Violence and discrimination against women and violence against children are
problems. Discrimination against the disabled and minorities persists. Indigenous people remain
marginalized. Child labor is a problem.

Almost all other human rights concerns are related to abuses committed during the former
military government. The bulk of these abuses occurred between 1973 and 1978, although a

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number took place after this period. A July Supreme Court decision expanded the possibilities
for clarifying cases involving persons who disappeared. The court ruled that lacking legal proof
of death, disappearances that occurred in the 1973-78 period (covered by the Amnesty Law)
must be considered as continuing kidnapings, thus potentially falling outside the amnesty period.
The court's ruling stated that only after the circumstances surrounding a disappearance are
clarified, and the legal death of the person who disappeared is proven to have fallen within the
1973-78 timeframe, can application of the Amnesty Law be considered. Nonetheless, military
authorities continued to resist a full accounting of the fate of those who were killed and who
disappeared, and some cases continued to be stifled by the judiciary. There were several
important legal decisions made in regard to high profile investigations of such past human rights
abuses, including the Caravan of Death and Operation Albania cases.

In October 1998, the United Kingdom detained retired General Pinochet pending resolution of a
Spanish extradition request on charges of torture, kidnaping, genocide, and murder. A series of
court rulings by the Law Lords denied Pinochet's effort to avoid an extradition hearing, but
limited the charges against him to abuses occurring after December 8, 1988. Pinochet's
extradition hearing began on September 27. On October 8, a British magistrate determined that
Pinochet could be extradited, but Pinochet appealed this decision. At year's end, legal
maneuvering continued, and Pinochet remained under house arrest in the United Kingdom.

Nearly 60 human rights cases have been filed in Chile against Pinochet and are under active
investigation. However, some in the human rights community are skeptical about the possibility of
bringing Pinochet to trial and convicting him of a crime if he were to return. General Pinochet's
continuing detention, along with advances in a number of human rights cases and the July
Supreme Court ruling, contributed to the continuing societal reexamination and the intensified
public and private discussion of what, if anything, could and should be done to deal with the
sometimes conflicting demands for truth, for justice, and for national reconciliation. There were
renewed efforts to reach a human rights understanding during the year, including at a "dialog
table" organized by Defense Minister Edmundo Perez Yoma that brought together military
officers and human rights attorneys for the first time since the return to democracy. At year's end,
such discussions continued, and the judicial system continued to investigate and either prosecute
or close pending human rights cases.

RESPECT FOR HUMAN RIGHTS

Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom From:

a. Political and Other Extrajudicial Killing

There were no reports of political killings; however, the police killed two persons during the
year.

A police officer allegedly shot and killed University of Tarapaca student Daniel Menco Prieto in
Arica during a May 19 student demonstration called to protest the size of the government budget
devoted to higher education. The authorities brought charges against the police officer for the
shooting; at year's end, the matter remained in the legal system.

On September 1, the authorities arrested two San Antonio Carabineros for their alleged
responsibility in the death of Jonathan Moya Jara. On August 8, Moya's partially clothed and
lifeless body had been found with its head buried in sand. The two Carabineros allegedly

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detained Moya illegally, citing a repealed law that allowed the police to stop, question, and
detain persons based upon "suspicion" (see Section 1.d.). At year's end, the case remained in
the courts.

The courts sentenced four police officers in February to 10 years and 1 day in prison for the
death of taxi driver Raul Palma Salgado, who died on January 12, 1998, while in police custody,
due to torture. The four officers are appealing the decision, and the case remained in the courts
at year's end. Palma's family has filed a $1.2 million (600 million pesos) compensation claim
against the State. The Committee for the Defense of People's Rights (CODEPU) identified
Palma's death as the third instance of suspects dying while in police custody due to torture or
excessive force since 1990.

The case of 25-year-old Claudia Alejandra Lopez, a University of Christian Humanism

Academy student shot under unclear circumstances during 1998 demonstrations in Santiago on
the anniversary of the September 11, 1973 coup, also remained under investigation.

In December 1996, Pedro Soto Tapia, a 19-year-old military conscript, disappeared from his
regiment at San Felipe after having written letters to his family describing mistreatment at the
hands of superior officers. In March 1997, his remains were found in a cave in San Felipe,
accompanied by what was purportedly a suicide note. On May 26, 1998, the judge handling the
case closed the investigation for the second time, ruling that he had been unable to determine the
circumstances of Soto's death. However, the case was reopened in July when a witness
appeared who claimed to have seen six persons beat Soto Tapia on his military base on the
evening of December 15. Fifteen former recruits interviewed following the witness's claim were
unable to corroborate it. On November 9, the investigating judge again closed the case. At
year's end, Soto Tapia's family was considering its legal options (see Section 1.c.).

After having been closed temporarily since 1996, an appeals court reopened on November 30
the investigation into the September 1989 murder of Movement of the Revolutionary Left (MIR)
leader Jecar Nehgme.

Important advances were made in clarifying events surrounding Operation Albania, the June
1987 killings of 12 Manuel Rodriguez Patriotic Front (FPMR) members. Judge Hugo Dolmestch
reconfirmed in January charges of use of unnecessary violence against those implicated in the
case, denying a motion to increase the charges to aggravated homicide. Due to a normal judicial
rotation, another jurist, Milton Juica, replaced Dolmestch in March. On October 29, the
authorities charged retired generals Hugo Salas Wenzel and Humberto Leiva with this crime.
They accused Wenzel, Director of the National Intelligence Center (CNI) in 1986-88, of being
an author of the crime, and Leiva, CNI Subdirector in 1987, of covering up the incident. At the
same time, the authorities detained six other former CNI agents; one of whom, Major Emilio
Neira, was still on active duty. Judge Juica also increased the charges against the 10 persons
detained earlier from unnecessary violence leading to death to kidnaping and homicide. On
November 15, the authorities also detained retired Captain Nernan Miquell for his role in the
case. In September the press reported that unknown persons allegedly linked to the former
security services threatened Rafael Castillo, a prominent investigator for the Investigations Police.
He reportedly also received threats in August 1998 when former CNI agents were charged in
the Operation Albania case (see Section 4).

In November eight former CNI agents, including Alvaro Corbalan, were charged with the
September 1986 murder of journalist Jose Carrasco. Five of the eight persons charged in this
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case also have been named in the Operation Albania investigation. Carrasco's killing took place
2 days after a failed assassination attempt against General Pinochet and was widely believed to
have been in reprisal for that act.

Efforts by Spanish Judge Baltazar Garzon to have former President and retired General Pinochet
extradited from the United Kingdom to Spain for his alleged responsibility in the deaths, torture,
and disappearances that took place during the military dictatorship continued. On January 18, a
Law Lords panel convened to rehear Pinochet's appeal that he enjoyed sovereign immunity and
should be freed immediately from house arrest and allowed to return to Chile. A November
1998 Law Lords ruling against Pinochet had been set aside in December of that year following
an appeal that one of the deciding judges had not revealed a potential conflict of interest
involving links with one of the parties supporting the Spanish request.

In a complex decision on March 24, the new Law Lords panel found that General Pinochet had
been arrested in connection with certain extraditable crimes under British law, did not enjoy
sovereign immunity with respect to the alleged crimes, and that extradition proceedings could
begin. However, the panel also ruled that the extradition request only could invoke charges of
torture and conspiracy to torture related to incidents after December 8, 1988, the date the
United Kingdom (following both Chile and Spain) ratified the International Convention Against
Torture. This initially limited the charges against Pinochet to one 1989 case of alleged police
torture leading to death and one count of conspiracy to torture, but Judge Garzon subsequently
amplified his complaint to include many other alleged instances of abuse.

On April 15, the British Home Secretary decided to allow the extradition process to proceed,
and Pinochet's extradition hearing began on September 27. On October 8, a British magistrate
determined that Pinochet could be extradited; the retired general appealed this ruling. At year's
end, legal maneuvering continued, and Pinochet remained under house arrest in England.

Investigations in Spain resulted in no new action regarding Operation Condor, an undercover

operation in which several military governments in the region, led by Chile, cooperated to
eliminate leftist opponents. Judge Garzon and a colleague had collected evidence and taken
testimony regarding human rights violations in Chile and Argentina during the military
dictatorships.

Former Chilean intelligence agent Enrique Arancibia Clavel continued to be detained in

Argentina, charged with involvement in the 1974 car bombing in Buenos Aires that killed former
army chief Carlos Prats and his wife Sofia Cuthbert. The case was reopened in 1992 as a result
of a petition filed by the Prats family containing new evidence; Arancibia was detained in 1996.
In January Arancibia petitioned for his release based on an Argentine law stating that no one can
be held in preventive detention for more than 2 years. The court rejected his petition, stating that
the law's release provision was not automatic; each case had to be reviewed on its own merits.

On April 9, charges against Arancibia were broadened to include "illicit association;" the court
also reaffirmed the Chilean Government's right to participate in the trial as a coplaintiff. Upon
issuance of this ruling, attorneys for the Prats family asked that General Pinochet and several
former senior officials of DINA (the army intelligence branch during the military regime),
including retired generals Manuel Contreras, Pedro Espinoza, Raul Iturriaga Neumann, and Jose
Zara Holger, and civilian Jorge Iturriaga Neumann, also be charged in the case. (Contreras and
Espinoza are serving prison terms for the 1976 killings in the United States of former Foreign
Minister Orlando Letelier and his assistant Ronni Moffitt.)
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In mid-May attorneys for those newly implicated--with the exception of Pinochet who did not
have legal representation--asked to have the statute of limitations invoked. In mid-August the
Argentine judge handling the case, Maria Servini de Cubria, sent an official request to Pinochet
in London asking that he name an attorney for this hearing. The judge noted that if Pinochet did
not name a legal representative, one would be appointed. Arguing that it wanted to focus its
energies on the actual prosecution of Arancibia, the Chilean Government declined to take part in
this phase of the legal proceedings. In December the judge ruled that Contreras and Espinoza
could be included in the case; Contreras and Espinoza appealed this ruling. At year's end,
decisions were pending on the other defendants who tried to invoke the statute of limitations;
oral proceedings against Arancibia had yet to begin.

On March 30, a Santiago appeals court ordered the reopening of the case involving the 1982
death of labor leader Tucapel Jimenez and the related 1983 homicide of carpenter Juan Alegria
Mundalca. Investigating Judge Sergio Valenzuela Pinto had closed the case on November 6,
1998, by ruling that there was insufficient evidence to bring anyone to trial. In reopening the
investigation, the appeals court ordered the detention of 12 persons, including retired General
Ramses Arturo Alvarez Scoglia and several former intelligence officers.

Acting on a petition by the Government's Council for the Defense of the State, on April 9, the
Supreme Court replaced Valenzuela Pinto, who had been criticized for his handling of the case
since taking it on in 1982, with Sergio Munoz Gajardo. In the months that followed, Judge
Munoz charged five other persons; the authorities held two of these individuals and granted bail
to the others. On May 27, the Supreme Court approved a request by Munoz to send a list of
questions to Pinochet in London seeking clarification of what the retired general knew about
Tucapel Jimenez' death. At year's end, these questions had not yet been presented to Pinochet.

In mid-September Judge Munoz ordered 2 further high-profile detentions, bringing the total
number of persons charged to 19. He ordered retired General Humberto Gordon, former CNI
director and army representative on the military junta in 1986-88, and retired Brigadier Roberto
Schmeid, former CNI chief for Santiago, detained on complicity charges. A September 21
Santiago appeals court ruling reduced the charges against Gordon to involvement in covering up
the crime, but did not order him released. Two days later, in a split decision, a Supreme Court
panel reinstated the complicity charges. Gordon was released on bail on November 12; at year's
end, 16 of 19 persons implicated in the crime were free on bail, 2 still were detained and
extradition of another from France was being sought.

The authorities took retired air force Colonel Edgar Ceballos Jones, who led air force
intelligence and the "joint command" in the years following the coup, into custody following a
January 25 appeals court ruling. The court ordered Ceballos detained for his alleged role in the
1974 death of Alfonso Carreno Diaz and the disappearance the same year of Jose Luis Baenza
Cruces. In June Ceballos filed to have his case transferred to the military justice system; the
Supreme Court rejected this petition on September 23. Ceballos was released on bail on
October 11; at year's end, legal proceedings were continuing.

The daughter of Carmelo Soria, a Spanish citizen working for the United Nations who was killed
in Santiago on July 14, 1976, appeared before the Inter-American Commission on Human
Rights (IACHR) in March, charging the State with denial of justice in her father's case due to an
August 23, 1996, amnesty ruling closing the investigation. In 1997 the Soria family rejected a
compensation offer from the Government.
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On April 19, a Concepcion military court detained five former CNI agents for the August 23-24,
1984, murders of eight MIR members. In 1997 a military court had closed the case, ruling that
the deaths occurred during an armed confrontation. However, a September 1998 Supreme
Court ruling ordered the case reopened.

In a compensation case, a Santiago civil court awarded approximately $1.2 million (600 million
pesos) to the mother of five MIR members who were killed or who disappeared between 1974
and 1976. The compensation was awarded for "moral damages." At year's end, the Government
was considering whether to appeal.

In early October, Italy requested the extradition of retired General Manuel Contreras for his role
in the attempted killing of Bernardo Leighton. Along with another Chilean, Contreras was
convicted of the crime in absentia in Rome in 1995 and sentenced to 20 years in prison. On
December 1, Judge Juan Guzman charged Contreras, along with former officers Marcelo Moren
Brito and Armando Fernandez Larios, with the October 1974 disappearance of Communist
Party member David Silberman Gurovich. The law precludes the extradition of any person being
processed for a local crime, although the Italian request remained pending at year's end.

While most allegations of human rights abuses are directed at now-retired officers, some alleged
perpetrators remain on active duty. For example, Army General Sergio Espinoza Davies, who
commanded the U.N. Observer Mission along the India-Pakistan border, was accused of being
involved in an October 1973 "war council" that sentenced five socialists to death without due
process. Following the U.N.'s announcement that it would investigate the charges against him,
the Government consulted with the United Nations. The issue became moot when General
Espinoza Davies, promoted to Army Inspector General, returned to the country in December
1998.

b. Disappearance

There were no reports of politically motivated disappearances.

The major human rights controversy involved past disappearances and efforts by political
factions and the judiciary to interpret the 1978 Amnesty Law in such a way as to achieve truth,
justice, and national reconciliation. As interpreted under the so-called Aylwin doctrine (named
after former President Patricio Aylwin), the courts should not close a case involving a
disappearance until either the body is found or credible evidence is provided to indicate that an
individual is dead. A version of this doctrine began to take hold in the court system, but its
application was uneven, and some courts continued the previous practice of applying the 1978
Amnesty Law to disappearances without conducting an investigation to locate the missing
person's remains or identify the perpetrators. Of the 1,289 individuals who disappeared under
the military regime, the remains of 244 have been found and identified; over 1,000 have yet to be
found.

The agency in charge of the compensation program for the families of those executed or who
disappeared reported in mid-June that since 1992 the State had provided over $95 million in
benefits. Survivor benefits include pensions, educational subsidies, and other assistance.

In December 1998, a Supreme Court panel overruled a 1997 application of the Amnesty Law
to the August 1974 disappearance of Alvaro Miguel Barrios Duche. The Supreme Court ruled
that the law only could be applied following the completion of a full criminal investigation and the
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identification of the guilty parties; it ordered the military court to begin an investigation. This
doctrine remains controversial, and jurisprudence in this area was unsettled at year's end.

On June 9, Investigating Judge Guzman ordered the detention of retired General Sergio
Arrellano Stark, who led the September- October 1973 Caravan of Death responsible for at
least 72 killings. Guzman also ordered the detention of former military officers Sergio
Arredondo, Marcelo Moreno, Patricio Diaz, and Pedro Espinoza (already in jail for the Letelier-
Moffitt murders). In December Judge Guzman granted Arellano's bail request subject to appeals
court approval. The appeals court rejected Arellano's request for bail, and at year's end Arellano
was considering his legal options. Guzman charged the 5 men with aggravated kidnaping in the
disappearances of 19 persons. In July the Supreme Court refused to dismiss the case against the
former officers.

In ordering Arellano and the four others detained, Guzman resorted to controversial
interpretations of the Amnesty Law and kidnaping statutes. The judge ruled that since the death
of those 19 persons who disappeared during the Caravan had not been proven legally, the
kidnapings must be presumed to continue and, therefore, the crime may fall beyond the period
covered by the amnesty. Consistent with this interpretation, a proven 1973-78 death falls under
the Amnesty Law; Guzman granted amnesty to five other former officers involved in the Caravan
on these grounds.

A July Supreme Court ruling on a habeas corpus petition brought by the detained former officers
explicitly supported Guzman's detention of the five on aggravated kidnaping charges and noted
that the investigation into the disappearances had to be exhausted prior to the consideration of a
grant of amnesty. In August family members of those executed or who disappeared during the
Caravan period petitioned the Santiago appeals court to raise the charges against those detained
to homicide and to revoke the amnesty granted to the five other former officers. On August 26,
the appeals court declined to increase the charges against the five detained officers and declined
to charge those not detained with homicide. In making its determination on the five persons who
were not detained, the court ruled that there was insufficient evidence of their involvement in the
murders; it did not reaffirm the amnesty decree.

The court further ordered that Armando Fernandez Larios, one of the five former officers
granted amnesty by Judge Guzman, be charged with aggravated kidnaping and that his
extradition be sought. In March the family of Winston Cabello Bravo, 1 of 16 persons executed
in Copiapo in October 1973 during the Caravan of Death, filed a civil suit in a foreign country
for damages against Fernandez. As of year's end, an extradition request for Fernandez had not
yet been presented.

On October 5, Judge Guzman asked the Supreme Court to send a list of questions to General
Pinochet in London seeking information on what he knew about the Caravan of Death, the
structure of the DINA, and other human rights matters. On November 3, Guzman announced
that Pinochet's response, received a day earlier, did not directly answer the questions. Instead,
Pinochet sent back a short note stating that his detention in the United Kingdom prevented his
access to the material necessary to respond to the questions.

On May 25, the authorities detained former DINA agent Basclay Zapata (also known as "El
Troglo") for his alleged involvement in the May 1974 disappearance of two MIR members. On
June 3, the Supreme Court rejected an appeal by Zapata to be released; he remained under
arrest at year's end.
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The Vicariate of Solidarity Document and Archive Foundation reported that in the first half of
1999, courts revoked three prior amnesty rulings. An amnesty ruling was overturned in another
instance, but the case was closed temporarily due to lack of evidence. Several other previous
cases in which amnesty was granted are being appealed.

Prior to 1998, the Supreme Court sometimes had ruled that when judges receive criminal
complaints related to actions by armed services members in the period covered by the amnesty
(September 11, 1973 to March 10, 1978), they were required to close the case immediately
without further investigation. Court rulings in 1998 and 1999 called this determination into
question, without completely ruling out the possibility that cases could be closed.

Military courts, in particular, continued to be prone to close cases. Nonetheless, on January 18

the highest military court revoked a lower military court amnesty ruling in the illegal arrest case of
Arsenio Poupin, declaring that the perpetrators of the crime had not been identified. Vice
Minister of Government at the time of the coup, Poupin was arrested in La Moneda on
September 11, 1973 and later disappeared. While the military court did order the case
temporarily closed due to lack of evidence, the finding leaves open the possibility of a future
reopening.

In September 1998, the Supreme Court revoked an amnesty granted by a lower court covering
the 1974 disappearance of MIR member Pedro Enrique Poblete Cordoba on the basis that the
Geneva Convention (on internal conflicts) was applicable. This is the only Supreme Court or
appeals court ruling that has interpreted the Geneva Convention as applicable to the military era,
overriding the Amnesty Decree.

In a subsequent 1998 case similar to Poblete's, the Supreme Court declined to invoke the
Geneva Convention. An August Santiago appeals court panel also declined to address the
Geneva Convention issue in a Caravan of Death ruling, despite the plaintiffs' arguments that the
convention should be invoked.

The Social Aid Foundation of Christian Churches (FASIC), the CODEPU, and other human
rights organizations have several denial-of-justice cases pending before the IACHR regarding
previously closed disappearance and execution cases. Denial of justice cases based on
application of the Amnesty Law also have been filed with the United Nations Commission on
Human Rights (UNCHR). The most recent of these was filed in April, alleging that justice had
been denied in the disappearance case of Eduardo Paredes Barrientos, an adviser to deposed
President Salvador Allende and once head of the Investigations Police. An August 1998
Supreme Court ruling had upheld a previous amnesty finding in Paredes' case.

In 1998 France joined Spain in seeking the extradition of General Pinochet from the United
Kingdom, based on the disappearance of three French citizens in 1973-77. Switzerland and
Belgium also filed extradition requests for Pinochet in 1998.

Investigations of military-era detentions and disappearances of persons at Colonia Dignidad

(renamed "Villa Baviera"), a secretive German-speaking settlement 240 miles south of Santiago,
led to an April 28 detention order issued by Judge Guzman against Paul Schaefer for the
kidnaping and disappearance of Alvaro Vallejos. Schaefer, already wanted by the authorities on
other charges, remained a fugitive at year's end. The 34,000-acre enclave, inhabited by 350
persons, was founded by the 78-year-old Schaefer, who immigrated from Germany in 1961
with 300 followers.
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c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or Punishment

The Constitution forbids the use of illegal pressure on detainees; however, the CODEPU has
received reports of abuse and mistreatment by both the National Police and the Investigations
Police. When requested by other human rights organizations or family members, CODEPU
lawyers visit detainees during the interrogation (see Section 1.d.) and represent some suspected
terrorists in court. The CODEPU continues to investigate alleged use of excessive force against
detainees. The Minister of Interior asks the courts to conduct independent investigations of
credible complaints of police abuse, but such investigations often do not result in arrests, due in
part to the reluctance of judges to pursue the issue vigorously.

The Human Rights Office of the Metropolitan Legal Aid Office, an arm of the Justice Ministry,
released a report in March noting that it had attended 815 persons in 1998, twice the number
seen the previous year. The report further stated that the Legal Aid Office presented 70 cases to
civilian or military courts in 1998; 42 cases were filed in 1997. Of the more recent cases, 48
were lodged against National Police officers for abuses, while 7 cases involved the Investigations
Police, and 6 involved military personnel. The remainder involved various government civilian
authorities and private security guards.

In July 1998, a new law entered into effect that clarified the illegality of any use of force against
persons detained by the police. The law provides that if a member of the police force uses
torture or unlawful coercion, either physical or mental, or orders them to be applied, or uses
them against a person under arrest or detention, the officer would be sentenced to imprisonment.
Officers who know about the abuse and have the necessary power and authority to prevent or
stop it also would be considered accessories to the crime if they fail to do so (see Section 1.d.).

Human rights groups continue to claim that military recruits sometimes are mistreated. The
Commission on Juvenile Rights (CODEJU), a nongovernmental organization (NGO) claimed on
November 5 that it had received 380 complaints of recruit mistreatment in the previous 5 years.
This statement followed the October 29 departure from an Iquique military base of recruits
Leonardo Guerra Leandro and Mario Jesus Basaubre. Once home Guerra claimed that he was
mistreated on the base; Basaubre committed suicide at home on October 30. In response, the
army announced that its preliminary investigation backed the recruits' claims of mistreatment and
promised to take administrative and disciplinary action against those allegedly involved. The
army also referred the matter to the local military prosecutor. The recruits' families filed a criminal
complaint charging the base's second in command and two other soldiers with responsibility for
the mistreatment. The army stated Basaubre's suicide was the third by a soldier during the year;
there was one suicide in the ranks in 1998, five suicides in 1997, and six in 1996.

On November 9, the investigating judge again closed the case of Pedro Soto Tapia, a 19-year-
old military conscript who alleged mistreatment in 1996 and whose remains were found in March
1997. At year's end, Soto Tapia's family was considering its legal options (see Section 1.a.).

There was no new information available on the case involving 14 military conscripts who were
reportedly beaten during a military exercise in 1998. One corporal involved in the incident was
removed from the military and was awaiting trial at the end of 1998.

At year's end, the court of appeals had not yet ruled on the August 1997 filing by attorneys for
Carmen Gloria Quintana that appealed efforts by the Government to set aside a compensation

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award of approximately $600,000 that the IACHR had recommended for Quintana in 1988.
Army captain Pedro Fernandez Dittus set fire to Quintana and her companion Rodrigo Rojas
Denegri while they were participating in a protest against the military regime in 1986. Rojas died
4 days later, while Quintana survived with severe and disfiguring injuries.

In September a press report indicated that unknown persons threatened Rafael Castillo, a
prominent investigator for the Investigations Police on Operation Albania, as well as the Letelier,
Prat, and Leighton killings.

Prisons are often overcrowded and antiquated, but conditions are not life threatening. Food
meets minimum nutritional needs, and prisoners may supplement the diet by buying food. Those
with sufficient funds often can rent space in a better wing of the prison. Prison guards have been
accused of using excessive force to stop attempted prison breaks. Although most reports state
that the guards generally behave responsibly and do not mistreat prisoners, several prisoners
have complained of beatings. There were 422 minors in adult prisons, according to 1998 figures
(see Section 5).

The maximum security prison housed 56 inmates until early February, most of them charged
with, or convicted of, terrorism. In February these prisoners were transferred to other
penitentiaries while repairs were done to the facility and security measures upgraded. The
prisoners complained that they were beaten and abused during the move; the Government
denied this, but admitted that prisoners were handcuffed and that tear gas was used. On June 6,
a Santiago appeals court, while recognizing that the inmates did not cooperate with the transfer,
ruled that prison guards used excessive force. The court ordered prison authorities to abstain
from using such force in the future. Prison authorities appealed the finding to the Supreme Court.

On March 29, 44 prisoners were returned to the maximum security prison; the other 12
remained in different penitentiaries. These prisoners continue to complain that strict security
measures, restriction of visitors, hidden cameras, and rigid regulations violate their rights. In 1997
the Ministry of Justice confirmed that there were listening devices in prison cells but asserted that
they were never used.

The Government permits prison visits by independent human rights monitors.

d. Arbitrary Arrest, Detention, or Exile

The authorities generally respect constitutional provisions for arrest and detention; however,
detainees are not always advised promptly of charges against them, nor granted a speedy
hearing before a judge. The Constitution allows civilian and military courts to order detention for
up to 5 days without arraignment and to extend the detention of alleged terrorists for up to 10
days. The law affords detainees 30 minutes of immediate and subsequent daily access to a
lawyer (in the presence of a prison guard) and to a doctor to verify their physical condition. The
law does not permit a judge to deny such access; police authorities generally observe these
requirements.

In practice many detainees are not promptly advised of charges against them and are not granted
a timely hearing before a judge. At the end of 1998, 7 percent of the general prison population
of 26,449 was under investigation but not charged with a crime; 44 percent were charged with
an offense and were awaiting trial or had been convicted and were awaiting sentencing; and 49
percent were serving sentences.

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In July 1998, a new law entered into force that eliminated the right of the police to stop persons,
demand identification, and arrest them based on suspicion that they may have committed a
crime. (This right to arrest persons on suspicion often was used against minors.) The new law
also requires police to inform those detained of their rights and to expedite notification of the
detention to family members. The law also deals with physical abuse by police against detained
persons (see Section 1.c.). A case filed in July 1998 involving the new law remains in the courts.

On September 1, the authorities arrested two San Antonio Carabineros for their alleged
responsibility in the death of Jonathan Moya Jara; prior to his death, the two policemen allegedly
detained Moya illegally, citing the repealed Suspicion Law (see Section 1.a.).

The Constitution provides for the right to legal counsel, but this is a reality primarily for those
who can afford to pay. The poor, who account for the majority of cases, may be represented by
law students doing practical training (who often are overworked), on occasion by a court-
appointed lawyer, or by a lawyer from the Government's legal assistance corporation. The
Constitution allows judges to set bail.

There were no cases of forced exile.

e. Denial of Fair Public Trial

The Constitution calls for a judicial system independent of the other branches of government;
however, while the judiciary, and particularly the Supreme Court, has been dominated in the past
by appointees of the former military regime, turnover in the courts has led to a significant
diminution of that influence.

Cases decided in the lower courts can be referred to appeals courts and ultimately to the
Supreme Court. Criminal court judges are appointed for life. In December 1997, constitutional
reforms were approved that set 75 as the age limit for Supreme Court justices, gave the Senate
the power to approve presidential nominees to the Court, and increased the Court's membership
from 17 to 21. Of the 21 justices on the Supreme Court, only 3 were appointed under the
military regime. The Supreme Court prepares lists of nominees for vacancies on the Supreme
Court and appeals courts, from which the President makes nominations. The Supreme Court
continues to work with the other branches of government on broad judicial reform.

The jurisdiction of military tribunals is limited to cases involving military personnel. If formal
charges are filed in civilian courts against a member of the military, including the National Police,
the military prosecutor asks for, and the Supreme Court often grants, military jurisdiction. This is
of particular consequence in the human rights cases from the period covered by the 1978
Amnesty Law. In addition, military courts have the authority to charge and try civilians for
defamation of military personnel and for sedition. Rulings by military tribunals can be appealed to
the Supreme Court. The army's Auditor General, Fernando Torres Silva, who was appointed
during the military regime, was replaced in April. Human rights groups had accused Torres Silva
of actively opposing investigations into cases involving alleged abuses under the military regime.

In September 1997, President Frei signed a judicial reform law that created the post of Attorney
General and a related ministry that is expected to be in full operation by 2003. Congress passed
enabling legislation for the Ministry in September, and the President signed it into law on
October 8. On November 17, the Senate confirmed Guillermo Piedrabuena to a 10-year term
as the first Attorney General. The judicial reform law provides that national and regional
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prosecutors investigate crimes and formulate charges, leaving judges and magistrates the
narrower function of judging the merits of evidence presented to them. The Government has
designated two regions to begin gradual implementation of the reform. Training and
administrative preparations began during the year, with the first oral trials expected in December
2000.

Based on the Napoleonic Code, the criminal justice system does not provide for trial by jury,
nor does it assume innocence until proven otherwise. Criminal proceedings are inquisitorial rather
than adversarial. The Constitution provides for the right to legal counsel, but the poor do not
always get effective legal representation (see Section 1.d.).

There were no reports of political prisoners, although the inmates in Santiago's maximum security
prison who have been convicted of terrorist acts routinely claim to be political prisoners.

f. Arbitrary Interference with Privacy, Family, Home, or Correspondence

The Constitution prohibits such practices, government authorities generally respect these
prohibitions, and violations are subject to effective legal sanctions. A 1995 privacy law bars
obtaining information by undisclosed recording, telephone intercepts, and other surreptitious
means, as well as the dissemination of such information, except by judicial order in narcotics-
related cases.

Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:

a. Freedom of Speech and Press

The Constitution provides for freedom of speech and of the press, and the Government generally
respects these rights. The press maintains its independence, criticizes the Government, and
covers issues sensitive to the military, including human rights. However, investigative journalism is
still a rarity.

Two major media groups control most of the print media, which are largely independent of the
Government. The State is the majority owner of La Nacion newspaper, but it is editorially
independent. A new privately owned Santiago-area daily, El Metropolitano, began publishing in
May.

The electronic media also are largely independent of government control. The Television
Nacional network is state-owned but not under direct government control. It receives no
government subsidy and is self-financing through commercial advertising. It is editorially
independent and is governed by a board of directors appointed by the Senate. Members reflect
various political viewpoints, and the board encourages the expression of varied opinions over the
network.

Under the State Security Law of 1958, it is a criminal offense to besmirch the honor of state
institutions and symbols, such as the Congress, the Supreme Court, the military services, the flag,
and the President. Military courts have the authority to charge and try civilians for defamation of
military personnel and for sedition, but their rulings can be appealed to the Supreme Court.
Human Rights Watch has criticized these restrictions on freedom of expression and information,
as has the OAS Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression; he visited the country in June
and called for changes to the law.

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In 1996 Congress passed a privacy law that set penalties for those who infringe on the private
and public lives of individuals and their families. At the time of the law's passage, journalists
argued vigorously that applying it to media reporting would have a chilling effect on freedom of
the press. As yet this privacy law has not been applied to the media. There have been
unsuccessful attempts to incorporate language and penalties similar to those in the privacy law
into a draft press law.

On January 21, 1998, the authorities jailed two journalists in a libel case brought against them by
Supreme Court Justice Servando Jordan under provisions of the State Security Law. They were
released on bail the following morning. Although a lower court rejected the charges against the
two journalists and an appeals court reaffirmed this decision in June, on September 16, 1998,
another appeals court reinstated the case. The two journalists spent the night of September 16 in
jail before being released on bail. The case remained in the legal system until June 29, when the
judge investigating the case absolved the two journalists. A Santiago appeals court confirmed
this ruling on September 8. Jordan appealed the ruling to the Supreme Court and the case was
under review at year's end.

On April 13, the "Black Book of Chilean Justice," by Alejandra Matus, went on sale in Santiago.
On April 14, Supreme Court Justice Jordan, who was mentioned negatively in the book, filed
charges against Matus under the State Security Law and asked to have all copies of the volume
seized. Responding to Jordan's suit, a Santiago appeals court judge ordered all copies of the
book seized from the publisher, Editorial Planeta, and from book stores. After seizure of the
book, the La Tercera newspaper and the Planeta publishing house each placed the prohibited
text on the Internet, using foreign servers. The book also was published in Argentina. On May
14, the Supreme Court declined to order release of the seized volumes while Jordan's complaint
continued in lower courts.

After becoming aware of the lawsuit, Matus left the country. The charges against her, and seizure
of the book, were widely criticized. The President called on the legislature to modify the State
Security Law to ensure freedom of expression and, on October 7, the Chamber of Deputies
approved modifications in the law; at year's end action still was pending in the Senate. In early
October, Matus presented her case before the IACHR.

On June 16, Editorial Planeta general manager Bartolo Ortiz and chief editor Carlos Orellana
were detained for their role in publishing Matus' book. They were released on bail 2 days later.
The OAS Special Rapporteur criticized their detention and the seizure of Matus' book during his
June visit. On July 30, a Santiago appeals court dismissed the case against Ortiz and Orellana.
On September 16, the Supreme Court affirmed the lower court decision, rejecting a petition
from Jordan to overturn the appeals court finding.

The 1980 Constitution established a Film Classification Council (CCC) with the power of prior
censorship. The council has banned over 50 films and approximately 700 videos. Local and
foreign film distributors regard the CCC's screening process as insufficiently transparent. The
Lawyers Association for Public Liberties petitioned the IACHR to object to censorship of the
film "The Last Temptation of Christ;" the Commission ruled against the Government and the case
is now before the Inter-American Court.

The National Television Council (CNT), created by legislation in 1989 and supported with
government funding, is charged with assuring that television programming "respects the moral and
cultural values of the nation." The CNT's principal role is to regulate violence and sexual content
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in both broadcast and cable television programming. Films and other programs judged by the
CNT to be excessively violent or to have obscene language or sexually explicit scenes can be
shown only after 10 p.m. when "family viewing hours" end. In practice, the ever-increasing
volume of programming makes the CNT's job all but impossible. The CNT issues occasional
warnings to networks and cable service providers and sometimes obliges them to postpone the
showing of certain films until after 10 p.m. It also occasionally levies fines. In July the CNT fined
the La Red television station for "harming the dignity" of a municipal employee during a news
spot. Debate continues over the CNT's role.

The courts can prohibit media coverage of legal cases in progress but do so rarely. Courts
issued two gag orders involving criminal cases in 1998, but both were overturned on appeal. On
January 8, journalist Paula Afani was detained for 6 hours for failing to reveal her sources in a
criminal case, but the arrest order was overturned quickly.

The press has begun using foreign Internet web sites to publish articles when gag orders are
issued.

The Government does not restrict academic freedom. In May students demonstrated to protest
the size of the Government's budget allocation for higher education; a police officer allegedly
killed one student protester (see Section 1.a.).

b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association

The Constitution provides for freedom of assembly, and the Government respects this right in
practice.

As is traditional in the month of September, a number of demonstrations took place related to

the anniversary of the 1973 coup, among other issues. In an early September student
demonstration near the University of Arcis, a Carbinero was burned badly by a Molotov
cocktail allegedly thrown by an 18-year-old student who was later taken into custody. On
September 22, a court dismissed charges against the student on grounds of insufficient evidence.

The Constitution provides for freedom of association, and the Government respects this right in
practice.

c. Freedom of Religion

The Constitution provides for freedom of religion, and the Government respects this right in
practice. All denominations practice their faiths without restriction. Church and state are officially
separate; however, the Roman Catholic Church receives official preferential treatment.

Many of the approximately 2 million Protestants, who represent about 12 percent of the
population, assert that the Government discriminates against them, based upon differing legal
status afforded to non-Catholics. They cite the absence of Protestant armed forces chaplains,
difficulties for pastors to visit military hospitals, and the predominantly Catholic religious
education given in public schools. To remedy this situation, the lower house of Congress
unanimously approved a bill to afford greater legal equality among all churches late in 1997. The
Senate approved an amended version of the bill in July, and it entered into force in October. The
new law allows other religious bodies to have a status that provides that a church cannot lose its
juridical status administratively; for the Catholic Church, the law reaffirms that it cannot have its
status questioned at all.
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d. Freedom of Movement within the Country, Foreign Travel, Emigration, and Repatriation

The Constitution provides for these rights, and the Government generally respects them in
practice. For minor children to leave the country, either alone or with only one of their parents,
they must have notarized permission from the nonaccompanying parent(s).

The law includes provisions for granting refugee and asylee status in accordance with the
provisions of the 1951 U.N. Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967
Protocol. The Government cooperates with the office of the U.N. High Commissioner for
Refugees and other humanitarian organizations in assisting refugees. The issue of provision of first
asylum has not arisen.

There were no reports of the forced return of persons to a country where they feared
persecution.

Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to Change their Government

Chile is a constitutional democracy, and citizens have the right to change their government
through periodic elections. There is universal suffrage for citizens 18 years of age and over. Free
and fair presidential elections were held on December 12, with a runoff on January 16, 2000.

The Government still operates under some political restraints that were imposed by the military
regime. Under the 1980 Constitution, various national institutions--including the President, the
Supreme Court, and the National Security Council (the latter acting in part on nominations by the
armed forces)--appoint an additional nine senators (beyond those elected) to 8-year terms. Nine
newly appointed institutional senators took their seats in March 1998 along with former
President Pinochet, who became a senator-for-life. (Upon leaving office in March 2000,
President Frei becomes eligible for a seat as a senator-for-life.) The legislative branch, with the
exception of the institutional senators, is elected freely and is independent from the executive
branch.

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