Court Rules Illegal Transfer of Mapuche Prisoner to Valdivia, Orders Immediate Return to Concepción Prison

Original article: Irregularidad de Gendarmería: Tribunal declara ilegal traslado a Valdivia de preso mapuche y ordena su retorno inmediato al penal de Concepción

The Cañete Guarantee Court has declared as illegal the transfer carried out by Chile’s Gendarmerie of Mapuche prisoner Federico Astete Catrileo, who was moved to the Valdivia Penitentiary as a penalty for declaring a hunger strike alongside four other community members demanding an end to isolation policies, according to sources close to the case reported to El Ciudadano.

The ruling, issued during a precautionary measures hearing, ordered the immediate return of the Mapuche community member from Lov Pocuno to the Concepción Penitentiary, which was executed on the same day (Tuesday, January 13).

The court deemed Astete Catrileo’s transfer «illegal and arbitrary.»

As of now, Federico Astete Catrileo, along with brothers Antihuen Santi and Nicolás Rivas Paillao, has been on hunger strike for nine days, demanding an end to the isolation regime that confines them for 22 hours daily, alongside numerous other violated rights.

Read more about this case:

Gendarmerie Moves Mapuche Prisoner Federico Astete Catrileo Without Judicial Authorization: On Hunger Strike

El Ciudadano