Commotion in Chile by a minor who was thrown into the river by a policeman during a protest

The fall of a protester into a river channel, allegedly pushed by a policeman, during a protest on Friday night, has shocked Chile and unleashed a new wave of criticism against Carabineros (militarized police) for the repression during the demonstrations .

The independent National Institute of Human Rights (INDH), which has monitored the social outbreak since it began in October 2019, assured that the young man is stable and asked the Carabineros to “clarify the situation.”

Images recorded by a television channel show how the young man falls into a river channel with hardly any water flow after being thrown over the railing of a bridge at the hands, allegedly, of a police officer during a demonstration in the capital’s Plaza Italia. The Carabineros institution “flatly” denied the images and denied the participation of police officers during the incident.

The Ombudsman for Children, an autonomous body that ensures the protection of minors, assured that it will be sued for crimes of attempted murder against the agent involved and requested that more evidence be collected.

The events are being investigated by the Public Ministry, as confirmed by the manager of the Victims Division of the Prosecutor’s Office, Erika Maira.

NEW WAVE OF CRITICS AGAINST THE POLICE

This episode rekindled criticism against the police authorities, which since the beginning of the social outbreak in Chile, in October 2019, have been strongly questioned for their actions when repressing the protests.

“In these images there is no room for political positions. The institutional use of force implies responsibility, ”said the official deputy, Ximena Ossandón, on her Twitter account.

The seriousness of the events led an opposition group to request, once again, the resignation of the questioned director general of the Carabineros, Mario Rozas, who has also been the target of criticism through social networks

“Under his mandate, the human rights of protesters in our country have been violated, since the social outbreak to date,” said Raúl Soto, a deputy for the opposition Party for Democracy (PPD).

Rozas, the highest authority of the police institution, has categorically rejected on several occasions the possible police excesses committed by some police officers.

Since the beginning of the social outbreak in Chile, the police force has been in the spotlight and has been accused by international organizations such as the UN, Amnesty International (AI) or Human Right Watch (HRW) for using excessive force and commit serious human rights violations in the marches.

Chile is experiencing the most serious social crisis since the end of the Augusto Pinochet dictatorship (1973-1990), which began in 2019 as a protest against the rise in the price of the metro ticket and turned into a revolt for a more economic model fair

The riots have left more than thirty dead, thousands injured and detained, as well as episodes of extreme violence with fires, looting and destruction of public furniture.

With information from EFE

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