Sebastián Piñera declares as defendant for crimes against humanity during the social outbreak of 2019 in Chile

( Spanish) — The former president of Chile, Sebastián Piñera, declared this Tuesday for more than 10 hours as a defendant for possible crimes of human rights violations that occurred during the repression of the social outbreak that began in October 2019.

The former president did not use his right to remain silent and answered all the questions of the High Complexity prosecutor Ximena Chong, who is leading the investigation.

“There was no reluctance to answer any of the questions we asked. We brought a prepared questionnaire, taking into account the background information gathered so far in the investigation,” Chong told reporters on Tuesday.

The investigation seeks to establish possible responsibilities between the ex-authorities of the Presidency of Chile, the Ministry of the Interior and Public Security and the Police of Chile, for events that occurred between October 2019 and March 2020 in the context of the social revolt.

Piñera’s lawyer, Samuel Donoso, pointed out at a press conference that his client was fully willing “to collaborate with the investigation in whatever is required” and affirmed that “we have the peace of mind and conviction that in the actions of the former president he always sought make the protection of public order and citizen security compatible with respect for the human rights of all. Consequently, no crime is configured.”

For her part, prosecutor Chong explained that “we are carrying out two investigations, one for crimes against humanity, based on prosecutor Armendáriz, in that investigation the former president has the status of defendant, because there are nominative complaints regarding him; and at the same time we are carrying out an investigation, also based on the regional prosecutor Armendáriz, regarding possible homicidal responsibilities of the carabineros commanders. In this investigation, the former president is not directly investigated.”

This Wednesday Sebastián Piñera will continue to give statements to prosecutor Chong.

Chile was the scene of massive economic and social protests that began on October 18, 2019, which began in Santiago as a reaction to an increase in the price of the subway ticket and spread throughout the rest of the country, which are known as the social outbreak, and that led then President Piñera to declare a state of emergency, and subsequently announce various economic and political reforms.