Justice Minister Fernando Rabat acknowledged on Sunday that his ministry did not take "certain things" into account when it granted sentence reductions to 56 people convicted of sexual offenses against minors, including hearing from the victims, according to BioBioChile. He made the remarks on the TVN program Estado Nacional.
In the interview, Rabat defended the criteria the ministry applied. He explained that the decision "was based on the Constitution, current legislation and the case law" of the courts.
The quote that led the outlet's coverage sums up his self-criticism: "What I lacked was not a human reflection but a political perspective." With it, the minister separated the human dimension of the decision from its political reading, while admitting omissions in the procedure.
The opposition announced a acusación constitucional (constitutional accusation, an impeachment-style proceeding) against him, the mechanism through which the Cámara de Diputados (Chile's lower house of Congress) can pursue the accountability of a minister of State. Before the interview, Rabat had argued that such an action "has no basis," because in his view the ministry acted lawfully.
On TVN he softened his tone. "I understand that I am facing a power that legislators have (…) But I also believe, and this week has been quite clear, that I have been acting in accordance with the Constitution and the law," he said.
Asked whether he would stay on, he ruled out resigning. "I hope to accompany the president throughout his four years," he said.
The source does not specify who the 56 beneficiaries are beyond the type of crime for which they were convicted, nor how many of them have already been released.
The minister also announced that the Executive is preparing a bill to amend the regulations. The initiative would seek to expressly exclude those convicted of rape against children and adolescents from the benefit, give victims greater participation and add judicial review of the resolutions.
