The trial was surrounded by threats related to the implementation of the “Anti-terrorism Law” passed during Augusto Pinochet’s dictatorship which took place in the South American country from 1973 to 1990.

The National Public Defender also denounced controversial events in the context of the trial. As reported by Prensa Latina, she said that one of the “anonymous witnesses” submitted by the State Attorney’s Office against the indigenous people was deaf. What’s curious is that this witness claimed to have identified the voice of one of the Mapuche people involved.

36 anonymous witnesses appeared in court, and the lawyers of the Mapuche people argue that many of them were manipulated by police officers.

Vial said that while the four Mapuche people were charged with common crimes, the whole process was carried out in the context of the Anti-Terrorism Law. The Cañete court found four leaders of the Arauco-Malleco Coordination guilty of theft and attempted murder with reference to the alleged attack against prosecutor Mario Elgueta in 2008.

“They were convicted because they think differently and are struggling for their rights”, said Luis Menares, one of the Mapuche people acquitted, and warned that the Anti-Terrorism law “will be used against the Mapuche people again.”

In a report for Mas Voces, Chilean journalist Fabiola Gutierrez said that the time the four Mapuche people will have to serve is not known yet. She also made reference to what indigenous organizations have been calling “a systematic violation of legal rights”, due to the use of “anonymous witnesses” on trials, among other things.

Photo: Mapuexpress.net