Chilean journalist Victor Herrero fined in defamation case

On 7th May 2023, Chileans voted for the Constitutional Council to draw up a new constitution to replace the one left by the Pinochet dictatorship. The first attempt was an open and inclusive process resulting in an ambitious and progressive constitutional text, which was then widely rejected in a referendum in September 2022.

The Constitutional Council will have five months to work on the draft presented by the Expert Commission appointed by the National Congress. The Council can approve, amend, or incorporate new norms with the votes of three-fifths of members. On 17th December 2023, the Chilean people will have the final say. If they ratify the proposed text, Chile will adopt a new constitution. If they reject it, the old constitution remains.

Peaceful Assembly

On 12th April 2023, around 300 students held a demonstration in Santiago against the Nain-Retamal Law, which gave new powers to the police known as carabineros.

During the march, students clashed with carabineros who used water cannons to disperse the demonstration.

The National Congress approved the Nain-Retamal Law on 6th April as part of a package of security-related legislation. The initiative is a merger of the Ley Nain and Ley Retamal bills which seek to increase penalties for crimes committed against security forces such as the carabineros, Investigative Police (PDI) and gendarmerie officers, in addition to establishing privileged self-defence for these officers when they are in the exercise of their duties. Both bills are named after two carabineros killed in the line of duty.

Clash between students and police

On 9th March 2023, at the start of the new school year, hundreds of students took to the streets of downtown Santiago to protest educational conditions with slogans such as: "Down with commercial education" and "Back to school, take up the student struggle again".

During the demonstration, there was a confrontation between the carabineros, who used tear gas and water cannons, and the demonstrators, who set up barricades and threw Molotov cocktails.

As reported by Deutsche Welle, one student said, "Not all students in Chile can study with dignity. We have infrastructure that is falling apart, and if this is happening in Santiago, imagine in the regions. We have to mobilise again this year with the same stamina as always".

At the end of 2022, the Chilean government announced an education reactivation plan worth 250 billion pesos to address the most urgent needs.

State to pay 630 million pesos to victim of the 2019 Estallido Social

An appellate court in San Miguel, a municipality in the Metropolitan Region, has ordered the National Treasury to pay Senator Fabiola Campillai and her family 630 million Chilean pesos (over $780,000 U.S. dollars).

Campillai and her sister suffered police brutality during the 2019 Estallido Social. On 29th November 2019, Campillai was on her way to her night shift job when she was hit in the face by a tear gas grenade shot by police. The impact left her permanently blind and also caused her to lose her sense of taste and smell. Her sister, who accompanied her to her job, confronted the police but was also shot at, which caused her dress to catch fire. The police officers subsequently refused to lend aid to both sisters.

As reported by a news outlet, the court had sufficient evidence to prove that police had violated the protocols over the use of gas cannons as well as their duty to assist the victim.

In July 2022, Campillai filed a lawsuit against the State.

Expression

Chile's press freedom deteriorating

Chile lost one spot in the latest press freedom index published annually by Reporters Without Borders (RSF), ranking 83 of 180. This is the lowest position the country has ever had. In 2022 Chile ranked 82, 54 in 2021, and 31 in 2016.

The 2023 RSF report highlighted, "While freedom of the press is guaranteed by Chile's constitution and justice system, it is not always respected in practice. Investigative journalism is losing ground, and attacks against reporters are on the rise. Legal proceedings against media outlets and journalists have become a recurring strategy to silence them".

IACHR sentences Chile for freedom of expression violations

On 28th February 2023, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACHR) issued a ruling on the State's responsibility for violating the freedom of expression and judicial guarantees of the environmental defender and lawyer Carlos Baraona Gray, who appealed to the Inter-American human rights system after being convicted of serious insults. He claimed that his right to express himself freely from the perspective of political criticism of a public authority's administration had been violated.

The case dates back to 2004, when Baraona Gray made public statements to various media outlets against the then Senator Sergio Páez, whom he accused of exerting pressure on the illegal felling of larch trees in the Los Lagos Region. The ex-parliamentarian filed a lawsuit for serious offences. The Puerto Montt Guarantee Court ruled in the official's favour, sentencing the lawyer to 300 days of suspended imprisonment, a fine, and suspension from public office for the sentence period.

After reviewing the case, the IACHR concluded that "Chile is responsible for violating the right to freedom of thought and expression, the principle of legality and judicial protection (...) established in the American Convention on Human Rights".

The State must pay compensation of USD 60,000, plus legal costs, and adopt education and training programmes for civil servants on access to information on environmental issues.

As reported by Observacom, the State of Chile has accumulated 18 judgments from the Inter-American Court of Human Rights in total. Of these, one-third of the cases have ended with a judgment declaring a violation of freedom of expression (cases The Last Temptation of Christ", Palamara Iribarne, Claude Reyes et al.; Norín Catrimán et al.; Urrutia Laubreaux; and Baraona Bray).

Chilean journalist Victor Herrero fined in criminal defamation case

On 22nd May 2023, a criminal court in the capital city of Santiago sentenced Herrero, editor of the independent news website Interferencia, on defamation charges and ordered him to pay the legal costs of the trial and a fine of 693.000 pesos (US$870). 

The court convicted Herrero on charges of defaming Christian Beltrán in a story written by Herrero and another reporter in August 2022 about Beltrán being removed from his position as police intelligence chief of the southern Macrozona Sur region, allegedly due to involvement in illegal logging.

After the report was published, Chilean police denied Beltrán's transfer was linked to illegal logging. Beltrán's lawyers filed a criminal defamation lawsuit against Herrero, claiming that the article had done "grave damage" to Beltrán's reputation and asking for a prison sentence between 241 days and three years.

Outlet Resumen targeted in burglary and failed arson attempt

On 20th March 2023, unidentified people entered the office of the Resumen news website in the southern city of Concepción, where they stole cleaning and office supplies, opened envelopes and archives and set a fire that did not spread, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ).

According to Resumen's editor Felipe Valenzuela, in July 2022, unidentified people stole a camera, image stabiliser, and other equipment from the outlet's office. The intruders also set fire in that incident. He added that Resumen often reports on political corruption in and around Concepción and that they were attacked twice in eight months. Also, some of their journalists are being harassed with lawsuits.

Prison sentences against unauthorised community broadcasters eliminated

On 6th June, the Chamber of Deputies approved a bill that establishes changes in penalties for unauthorised broadcasting. According to the bill, fines for illegal broadcasting services and equipment operations will be maintained but not punished with prison sentences or the seizure of equipment or facilities. The changes consider the historical demands of the sector and seek to bring the regulations in line with international standards.

Free-to-air community radio stations that do not have authorisation will also be fined, but "stations operating local and community bandwidths located in isolated areas" are excluded from any sanctions.

According to Observacom, the Chilean Ministry of the Secretary General of Government had stated in late 2022 that there was progress in modifying article 36B, which seeks to decriminalise sanctions for broadcasters, in line with a long-standing demand from the community sector. In turn, the government, the Ministry of Transport and Telecommunications and the Undersecretariat of Telecommunications (SUBTEL) pushed for the initiative to be dealt with.