Minister of Justice Fernando Rabat confirmed on Thursday, October 22, that his ministry signed two decrees that reduced the sentences of former military officers held at Punta Peuco, according to The Clinic. Both are serving sentences for kidnapping and torture committed during the military regime.
Rabat made the confirmation in an interview with T13 Radio. When asked, he replied that "it is true" that the decrees were signed. The outlet does not report the names of those who benefited or how many years were taken off their sentences.
The acknowledgment comes amid controversy over the sentence reductions granted to 56 people convicted of sexual crimes against minors, a case that became public this week and put the Ministry of Justice under pressure.
The minister in José Antonio Kast's government defended the decision on legal grounds. "These benefits were granted in the same way over the last 20 years by governments of different political stripes because the law is applied," he said.
Rabat noted one exception. "If my memory serves me correctly, I believe that only under the Boric government were absolutely all of them rejected," he said. According to the minister, the Corte Suprema (Chile's Supreme Court) later overturned those denials in at least four cases.
The cabinet minister also cited constitutional case law. In his view, these benefits cannot be denied or granted to groups of people as a whole. "In 20 years, when it comes to military personnel, there have been benefits for different people under different governments," he said.
The debate touches an open wound. Punta Peuco houses people convicted of human rights violations during the dictatorship, and any benefit granted to them has sparked political debate under every government since the return to democracy.
To close the issue of child abusers, Rabat announced that the executive branch will back the parliamentary motions that seek to prevent those convicts from receiving sentence reductions. He mentioned a bill by Deputy Ossandón and others by Senators Squella, Longton, Flores, Bianchi and Araya.
The minister added that the government is preparing its own legal amendment to keep these cases from happening again. He also cited a bill on parental responsibility that the Family Committee approved unanimously. Rabat did not give a date for when the executive's proposal will be submitted.
