By Natalia A. Ramos Miranda
SANTIAGO (Reuters) – Some Chilean criminals are set to be released from crowded jails vulnerable to coronavirus after right-wing lawmakers withdrew a controversial lawsuit that sought to also commute the sentences of those convicted of human rights abuses under dictator Augusto Pinochet.
The fast-tracked legislation, approved last week in Congress, grants more lenient terms, such as house arrest, to some 1,300 prisoners accused of petty or low-level crimes. The bill focuses on criminals 75 years of age or older, pregnant women and those with young children.
Prisoners held for human rights violations, however, are slated to stay put, along with those in jail for more serious crimes.
A group of 14 conservative Chilean senators from the ruling Chile Vamos coalition had initially argued before the countrys constitutional court it was “discrimination” to exclude from the law those convicted of crimes against humanity.
The case sparked outrage in Chile, where anger still simmers over dicatorship-era abuses.
More than 3,000 people died or disappeared in political violence during the military regime from 1973 to 1990. The secret service and the army also tortured and drove into exile thousands of dissidents and leftists.
Presidency Minister Felipe Ward said in a televised broadcast that the senators’ dropping of the case had given the law the “green light.”
The bill still needs final approval from the constitutional court and President Sebastian Pineras signature to become law.
The commuted sentences are expected to greatly reduce the populations of crowded prisons where coronavirus would likely spread most quickly.
Chile has reported nearly 8,000 cases of coronavirus, among the highest tallies in the region. Health authorities say approximately 100 prisoners have contracted the virus.
Prisoners convicted of rights abuses are housed in Chiles Punta Peuco prison, a large facility north of Santiago known for spacious cells and more lenient conditions.
(Reporting by Natalia Ramos, writing by Dave Sherwood; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)
