The Central North High Complexity Prosecutor’s Office, led by Ximena Chong, is carrying out an investigation into crimes linked to human rights violations during the social outbreak of 2019. In this context, a round of interrogations of former government authorities has begun , among whom are former President Sebastián Piñera, former Interior Ministers Andrés Chadwick and Gonzalo Blumel, and former Undersecretaries of the Ministry, Rodrigo Ubilla and Juan Francisco Galli. All of them are considered accused, since they were sued for crimes against humanity in November 2019.
The investigation was initiated by the prosecutor Claudia Perivancich in Valparaíso, but later reorganized by the then national prosecutor, Jorge Abbott, who appointed Ximena Chong to handle the case. The prosecutor has already decreed some proceedings in both cases and has tried to question former authorities such as the former general director of the Carabineros, Mario Rozas, and the current head honcho of the institution, General Ricardo Yáñez, who recently accepted his right to keep silence.
According to the newspaper La Tercera, Sebastián Piñera’s lawyer, Samuel Donoso, has explained that his client always sought to harmonize the protection of public order and citizen security with respect for the human rights of all citizens, and that his actions obeyed to the correct fulfillment of their public functions, seeking at all times the protection of human rights in the difficult moments that the country experienced. Donoso added that Piñera has collaborated permanently with the investigation, has already given a statement in this case and will continue to collaborate in whatever is required.
