Chile's ambassador to Israel, Gabriel Zaliasnik, is listed as a suspect (imputado) in the judicial appointments strand of the Caso Audio, according to BioBioChile. The Valparaíso regional prosecutor, Claudia Perivancit, confirmed this at the Palacio de Tribunales (the courts building): Zaliasnik "has the status of a suspect, but those cases have not been formalized".
The Caso Audio is the criminal investigation that grew out of a recording of lawyer Luis Hermosilla. One of its strands examines how influence was exerted over the appointment of judges and justices of the courts.
The confirmation came days after Hermosilla's latest testimony. According to the outlet, the lawyer said Zaliasnik had access to justices of the Courts of Appeals and the Corte Suprema (Supreme Court). He also said that he, Zaliasnik and lawyer Samuel Donoso assessed the names of candidates for positions in various courts.
According to Hermosilla, the three did this work to place people in positions of authority within the Poder Judicial (the judiciary).
The investigation began with a complaint filed by Deputy Daniel Manouchehri and Senator Daniella Cicardini, both of the Partido Socialista (PS, Socialist Party). The complaint was declared admissible in early June, before Zaliasnik took up his post in Tel Aviv. Even so, the government of President José Antonio Kast kept the appointment.
The official argument was that being a suspect is not the same as being responsible for the acts under investigation. That position now faces a tougher test.
Manouchehri said he hoped Zaliasnik "is promptly formally charged" and called for his resignation "for the sake of Chile's image". He also warned of a "latent possibility of flight", since the ambassador lives in another country.
The issue also reached the Foreign Relations Committee of the Cámara de Diputadas y Diputados (Chile's lower house). Deputy Lorena Pizarro (PC, Communist Party) requested a special session on the case. The committee chair, Republican Stefan Tubert, rejected the request, citing the presumption of innocence the Executive has defended.
There is unease at La Moneda (the presidential palace), according to sources cited by BioBioChile. Staunch defenders of the ambassador coexist with those who see a clash with the commitment to probity the government promised. The situation would only change if the Fiscalía (Public Prosecutor's Office) formally charges Zaliasnik, according to the same sources.
The diplomat was already dogged by controversy. On the YouTube program Defending Israel, he questioned the figures on the size of the Palestinian community in Chile. He also described the foreign policy of Gabriel Boric's government as ideologized.
After those remarks, Foreign Minister Francisco Pérez Mackenna called him personally and asked him to clarify them, which Zaliasnik did through a statement.
Asked about the suspect status, the foreign minister replied: "I don't know whether there is new information, I have to look at it, analyze it". He added that the government respects judicial proceedings. For now, the case has no known date for formal charges.
