“It is outrageous that the Judiciary, which was complicit during the 17 years of dictatorship, ignoring appeals and denying justice, now shows concern and sensitivity toward those responsible for more than 3,500 crimes,” the AFEP denounced.

The Association condemned the attempt to seek mechanisms to release the repressors, citing their advanced age and health.

“This measure ignores the seriousness of the crimes committed, the dearth of cooperation with the truth, and the fact that these criminals not only fail to acknowledge the illegality of their acts but rather justify and claim responsibility for them,” the group recalled.

It affirmed that during Augusto Pinochet regime (1973-1990), thousands of people were murdered or disappeared, detained, tortured, and exiled under the national security doctrine.

The text specifies that more than 50 years after the military coup and 35 years after the end of the dictatorship, the fate of 1,100 disappeared detainees is still unknown. While convictions have been handed down in recent years, they have been delayed, and the seriousness of those crimes has been downplayed.

“We reject with all our strength and will any attempt to favor those convicted of crimes against humanity. Memory, truth, and justice are non-negotiable,” the AFEP statement concludes.

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