Original article: Del Caso Lonkos a Rafael Pichun: Lof Temulemu vuelve a la CIDH en busca de justicia
The Lof Temulemu will appeal to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) to report violations in the judicial process involving Rafael Genaro Pichun Collonao, the werken of the community and son of the late and historic lonko of Temulemu, Pascual Pichun, who was wrongfully convicted by the Chilean state for «terrorist threats» and later exonerated by a ruling from this same body in the context of the so-called «Lonkos Cases».
«We are going to file a complaint with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights regarding the case of the werken of the Temulemu community, my brother Rafael Pichun Coyonao, who is currently incarcerated in Angol prison,» announced Lof Temulemu’s lonko, Juan Pichun Collonao, in statements to the press.
In the action that will be presented to the IACHR to report on the violations that occurred during the judicial process that led to Rafael Pichun Collonao’s conviction and imprisonment, his brother and lonko of Temulemu, Juan Pichún Collonao, along with family members and the lawyer and director of El Ciudadano, Javier Pineda Olcay, will participate.
Rafael Pichun, a member of the Lof Temulemu, located in the commune of Traiguén, Malleco Province in the Araucanía Region, serves as the werken (spokesperson) for his community, representing, communicating, and defending their interests and those of the Mapuche people. He was arrested on April 12, 2024 in Santiago by the Police Investigations (PDI) in connection with an investigation into events that occurred in October 2023 in the commune of Quilleco, Biobío region.
According to the Prosecutor’s Office, the werken is alleged to have participated in organizing the events under investigation, and since his arrest, he has been deprived of liberty.
Rafael Pichun’s judicial process has been marked by controversies. Both his defense and family have indicated that from the outset the evidence used to link the Mapuche leader to the events in Quilleco lacked relevance and strength.
Furthermore, they have warned that certain evidence could have alternative interpretations regarding the investigated events, insisting that Pichun Collonao should not have been sentenced to 7 years in prison.
According to the werken’s defense, the conviction was predominantly based on the evaluation of communications and other evidence that would not sufficiently demonstrate direct involvement in the attack.
«One of the main points of contention relates to how Rafael Pichun’s involvement in the events was established«, stated the family of the Mapuche leader, as reported by Araucanía Diario.
«The Public Ministry investigated various individuals for their alleged involvement in these events, condemning Rafael for a completed crime of arson, while he was acquitted of another arson charge and all remaining accusations against him,» they noted.
Lof Temulemu Seeks Justice at the IACHR
The story of the Pichun family is intertwined with the processes of territorial demands and legal actions within Lof Temulemu that have occurred over the past decades. The lonko of Temulemu, Pascual Pichun—father of Juan and Rafael Pichun Collonao—was unjustly convicted of «terrorist threats» and in 2014 was exonerated by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACHR) in a ruling that established the Chilean state’s international responsibility for rights violations related to anti-terrorism legislation.
Specifically, the body declared that the Chilean state «violated various rights contained in the American Convention on Human Rights», including: the principle of legality and the right to a presumption of innocence, the principle of equality and non-discrimination, the right to equal protection under the law, the right of the defense to interrogate witnesses, the right to appeal the ruling to a higher court, the right to personal liberty and the right to presumption of innocence, freedom of thought and expression, enshrined political rights, and the right to family protection.
This background, for Rafael Pichun’s family, links to the misuse of the criminal justice system in cases involving Mapuche leaders and representatives.
«We understand that today it is no longer the rights of the Mapuche that are violated, but rather the state itself, through judicial powers and prosecutors, is infringing upon the very rights that governments have promoted and legislated. In this framework, we believe it is important to bring this case of Rafael Pichun forward, where various rights to defense are being violated, such as the use of secret witnesses without disclosing their identities,» stated lonko Juan Pichun to the press.
«In the ruling of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights in the Lonkos Case, my father was able to achieve his innocence through this international tribunal, and that is what we want to substantiate in the accusation against Rafael«, he affirmed, reiterating that according to the family and the defense of the werken, there is no evidence proving his connection to the attack, for which he has been convicted and deprived of liberty.
«Today we are putting a Mapuche and a non-Mapuche under the same conditions, in the same trials, and surely this non-Mapuche will be released while our people will be condemned and not only that, but they will receive a harsh sentence, which is what we are claiming,» he emphasized.
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