They denounce Piñera before the ICC for crimes against humanity

Hard UN report on human rights violations in Chile (December 2019) 1:33

(CNN Spanish) -

The president of Chile, Sebastián Piñera, was denounced this Thursday before the International Criminal Court for alleged crimes against humanity during the repression of social protests in 2019.

The appeal was presented by the Chilean Human Rights Commission (CHDH), former Spanish judge Baltasar Garzón, the American Association of Jurists (AAJ) and the Centro di Ricerca ed Elaborazione per la Democrazia (CRED), from Italy.

The complaint also holds other political and police authorities in Chile responsible.

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The protests began in Santiago after the government proposed to increase the price of Metro tickets.

In the image: riots in the streets of Santiago de Chile on October 19, 2019. Look in this gallery for more photos of the tense situation in Chile.

(CLAUDIO REYES / AFP via Getty Images)

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Protesters face riot police on October 19 in the streets of Santiago de Chile.

(MARTIN BERNETTI / AFP via Getty Images)

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Chilean President Sebastián Piñera announced on Saturday that ministers will suspend the plan, after declaring a state of emergency the day before.

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Damages in transport stations in Santiago de Chile.

(PABLO VERA / AFP via Getty Images)

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The protests have been marked by riots (PABLO VERA / AFP via Getty Images)

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Chaos in Santiago: fires, looting and barricades on Friday night.

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The Macul metro station was set on fire by protesters this Saturday.

(JAVIER TORRES / AFP via Getty Images)

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A protester throws a tear gas canister during the unrest at the protests.

(PABLO VERA / AFP via Getty Images)

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"Piñera out," says the sign carried by two protesters in Santiago de Chile this Saturday, October 19.

(PABLO VERA / AFP via Getty Images)

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A policeman throws a tear gas canister during protests in Santiago de Chile.

The streets of Santiago, the capital of Chile, have been the scene of violent clashes between protesters and Carabineros, the national police force of the South American country.

The trigger for the chaos was an increase in subway fares, which was suspended this Saturday after violent demonstrations (PABLO VERA / AFP via Getty Images)

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A protester waves a Chilean flag outside the Plaza Maipú metro station.

The Government justifies the rise in subway tickets due to the price of the dollar and oil, among other factors.

(PABLO VERA / AFP via Getty Images)

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Chilean firefighters extinguish the flames of a bus that was burned during the protests.

(MARTIN BERNETTI / AFP via Getty Images)

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The serious damage caused to the Metro stations this Friday forced the suspension of the train service throughout the capital, causing a road collapse and forcing the people of Santiago to return on foot to their homes.

Buses and other means of public transport could not cope.

(PABLO VERA / AFP via Getty Images)

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A woman stands in front of a military vehicle during the riots in Santiago de Chile.

(PABLO VERA / AFP via Getty Images)

CNN has requested a reaction to the Chilean presidency, but has yet to receive a response.

• OHCHR report on Chile describes human rights violations and suggests reforms to the Piñera government (2019)

The complainants claim that the cases of "homicides, torture, sexual torture, eye trauma, mutilation and loss of vision, serious injuries, arbitrary detentions" that occurred during the riots imply a "policy of massive, serious and serious violations. systems of human rights ”.

The arguments of the complaint against Sebastián Piñera

They also consider that many of these acts constitute "crimes against humanity", which cannot remain in impunity, "as established by the international human rights law in force in Chile, such as the Rome Statute, which was ratified by the State. of Chile, on June 29, 2009 ».

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The protests in Chile already leave 31 dead (February 2020) 2:27

One of his main arguments for the appeal is the closure of 3,050 cases for human rights violations that should be investigated by the Public Ministry.

“We have decided to resort to the International Criminal Court because the victims, their families, Chilean society as a whole and all humanity have the right and the duty to do so, when the organs and powers of the Chilean State have failed to comply with their obligation to investigate, prosecute and punish those responsible ", according to the statement of the complainants.

• Amnesty International: Chilean police must be investigated for human rights violations (2020)

Through a video, the president of the Chilean Human Rights Commission, Carlos Margotta Trincado, pointed out that “the Chilean courts have failed to fulfill their duty to administer justice, justice to which both the victims, their families, and society are entitled. Chilean as a whole ».

For his part, Garzón, who was a magistrate of the National Court of Spain, added that "the complaint before the prosecution of the International Criminal Court wants to highlight the impunity that is being experienced in Chile."

In addition to participating in the current complaint against President Sebastián Piñera, Garzón leads a lawsuit against the Spanish State, which has been processed in Argentina for 10 years, for the crimes committed during the Franco regime.

International Criminal Court Sebastian Piñera