In Freedom Machi Millaray Huichalaf alongside Mapuche Community members charged with arson in Rio Bueno, Chile

Posted on May 31, 2013 by CidSur
Source: http://cidsur.cl/2013/05/en-libertad-machi-millaray-huichalaf-junto-a-comuneros-mapuche-imputados-de-incendio-en-rio-bueno/

This Thursday, May 30, 2013, the review hearing of the preventive detention order for the Machi Millaray Huichalaf, Cristian García Quintul, Fénix Delgado and Facundo Jones Huala, was held in the Tribunal of Guarantee of Rio Bueno, Region of Los Rios.

It should be recalled that these Mapuche Huilliche, along with Alex Bahamondes and the Machi Tito Cañulef (subjected to complete house arrest since a month ago) had been arrested and formalized for arson against the house of the caretaker of the estate Pisu Pisue, events that occurred in January of this year. A result of this is that they were in pretrial detention in the Concessioned prison of Valdivia. 

At being about to complete five months of detention and investigation, the defense of community members composed of Public Defender, Hardy Grotte, and the Advocate of the Research and Defense Center SOUTH, Karina Riquelme Viveros, requested the change of precautionary measures. 

At the hearing that began around 14:50 hours, advocates came down hard on the quality of the evidence to sustain the charge of the prosecutor. 

Meanwhile the Prosecutor founded his refusal to the freedom of the community members on alleged new information relating to law enforcement and intelligence reports produced by the ANI which proved to be evidence in context in which reference was made to other crimes for which the Mapuche were not even formalized.

So weak was the information presented by the prosecutor that the judge of the Court of Rio Bueno said in a part of his decision that "He kept the expectation that the new information that was offered in the hearing would allow to touch the facts for which the accused have been formalized. However, the expectation began to diminish with the passage of the allegations in that none of the antecedents of the investigation reinforce the first that have been identified (...) "

Noting finally that "In this decision, one experiences the sincere belief that maintaining the pretrial detention for the current scenario is disproportionate to the purposes of the proceedings. By virtue of these antecedents of how they were told, by virtue of the new antecedents nothing allows us to touch down on the antecedents that were the subject of formalization therefore I order preventive detention is replaced by another as set in the code ... "

Thus the pretrial detention of Machi Millaray Huichalaf alongside the three other community members was replaced by partial house arrest, except for Facundo Jones Huala who remained subject total seclusion at his home in the city of Osorno.

The defending lawyer Karina Riquelme pointed out after the hearing that "The basis that was laid by the Judge of Guarantee of Rio Bueno, confirms what we have said from the beginning of the investigation, There are no precedents sufficient to maintain a precautionary measure as serious as preventive prison. The reports of the National Intelligence Agency contain no forensic interest, only affectations to the privacy and the right to freely exercise the Mapuche culture. We hope that in the event that the Public Ministry appeals, the Court confirms that the precautionary measure of house arrest is sufficient to ensure the purpose of the procedure."