As
Chile nears its 45th anniversary since the socialist government of
Salvador Allende was overthrown, former National Intelligence
Directorate (DINA) and National Information Centre (CNI) agents are
being released from prison on parole, despite having been handed
multiple lengthy prison sentences.
by
Ramona Wadi
Part
4 - Chile: where torturers seek the prosecution of investigative
writers
For
Javier Rebolledo, who has dedicated his work and writing to
uncovering and documenting dictatorship crimes, justice has proved to
be nothing but a travesty. In July, El Desconcierto reported that
former DINA agent Raul Pablo Quintana Salazar, who is serving a
prison sentence in Punta Peuco, pressed charges of calumny against
Rebolledo for information included in his book Camaleon. If the court
rules in Quintana’s favor, the author faces a sentence of up to
three years in prison.
The
purportedly injurious information relates to court testimony in which
a former officer, Gregorio Romero Hernandez, witnessed Quintana
inserting a carrot into the vagina of Nelsa Gadea Galan during a
torture session at Tejas Verdes. To this day, Gadea, who is from
Uruguay, is one of the disappeared.
It is
the first time in Chilean history that a journalist has been
prosecuted for reporting and making public the crimes committed
during the dictatorship. Quintana’s daughter is appearing in court
on behalf of her father. The former DINA agent is legally represented
by Juan Carlos Manns, who was also the lawyer for the late DINA
Chief, Manuel Contreras Sepulveda.
Rebolledo
told MintPress: “My trial could affect Chilean journalism. The
punishment becomes a weapon against journalism, to deter journalists
from doing their job. It is not only threatening the media but also
all citizens. Throughout the whole world, even in Latin America, the
crime of of calumny has been removed from the criminal courts. Prison
sentences have been replaced with economic fines and punishments that
are decided in the civil court.”
The
court will issue its verdict on October 9. During his hearing on
August 16, it was suggested that Rebolledo serve 541 days in prison.
In comments to the press after the hearing, he insisted, “I am
not going to retract or correct anything, and I do not accept the
prison sentence that they are offering.”
Rebolledo
believes that his case must raise two important questions: “What
kind of journalism is wanted in Chile? And what role should
journalism play within Chilean society?”
There is
a general feeling in Chile among those involved in the struggle for
memory that Chile’s judicial system is influenced by the right wing
and is thus becoming a politicized tool. Rebolledo explains why: “The
judiciary is appointed under the influence of the executive.
Therefore, there is political influence when a judge is appointed —
influence that is well known by the media. Each political party
introduces its candidate for the judiciary, within a political
balance that has been consented to by parliament. So the judiciary is
not independent.”
Rebolledo’s
concluding remarks focus on the discrepancies in the Chilean justice
system: “Former military officers convicted of human-rights
violations are allowed to press charges and sue. Someone like Raul
Pablo Quintana, who was sentenced to life imprisonment for crimes
against humanity, can request that a journalist who is honestly doing
his job, be prosecuted and sentenced to prison. All I did was to
quote a judicial sentence that is written in a judicial report and
that describes a crime that was committed by Quintana.”
***
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