E/CN.4/1996/35/Add.2
page 5
information alleged that there had been a series of irregularities in the
legal proceedings, which ultimately made it impossible to establish the facts
and punish those responsible. In a letter dated 27 October 1995 the Special
Rapporteur informed the Government of specific concerns in relation to each of
these cases and asked that they be brought to the attention of the bodies
currently investigating them.
II.
COMPLAINTS OF TORTURE RECEIVED BY THE SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR
A.
Common features
10.
The information received by the Special Rapporteur from different sources
leads him to conclude that, although torture is not practised in Chile either
systematically or as a result of government policy, the cases currently
occurring are sufficiently numerous and serious for the authorities to
continue looking into the problem and for the State’s rejection of torture to
be reflected in the adoption of specific measures.
11.
On the basis of reports received from non-governmental organizations, the
Special Rapporteur has transmitted a number of cases to the Government in
recent years with the request that they be duly investigated. Thus in 1992
the Special Rapporteur transmitted 17 cases allegedly occurring between 1990
and 1992. In most of them the Government replied that the individuals in
question had not filed complaints of torture. In two it stated that,
according to the corresponding medical reports, the persons in question had
not displayed visible signs of torture, and in one that the complaint had been
rejected for lack of evidence.
12.
In 1993 the Special Rapporteur transmitted 47 new cases allegedly
occurring between 1991 and 1993, out of which the Government replied to 31.
In 17 cases the reply stated that according to the report of the Forensic
Medicine Department there had been no visible signs of torture; in 10 it
stated that, according to the corresponding medical report the individual
displayed multiple bruises; in two cases the reply stated that no complaint of
torture had been filed and in one that the medical report had indicated signs
of torture but that the claim had been rejected for lack of evidence.
Finally, in one case it was stated that the report of the Carabineros doctor
had not indicated any signs of torture.
13.
In 1995 the Special Rapporteur transmitted 46 further cases alleged to
have occurred between 1992 and 1995. At the date of conclusion of this report
the Government had replied to an initial group of 22. Nine of these replies
indicated that the complaint filed had been dismissed because it had not been
substantiated that the offence had been committed or because of lack of
evidence; in seven cases it was stated that the complaint was being processed,
although in some of these cases the administrative inquiry concluded that no
irregularities had occurred. In three cases it was stated that no complaint
had been filed; in one that the Forensic Medicine Department had not observed
any injuries; in one, that the Forensic Medicine Department had observed
serious injuries; finally, in one case it was indicated that a Carabineros
official had been given a disciplinary sanction but that the case had been
dismissed because it had not been fully proved that an offence had been
committed.