Original article: Caso Quilleco: reportan grave deterioro de salud de presos políticos mapuche tras 43 días de huelga
Mapuche political prisoners linked to the «Quilleco Case» are experiencing severe health deterioration after 43 days of liquid hunger strike.
The detainees, Óscar Cañupan, José Lienqueo, Bastián Llaitul, Axel Campos, and Roberto Garling, are held at the Correctional Center (CCO) in Temuco, La Araucanía region, demanding the annulment of their trial.
The Quilleco Case dates back to two arson attacks on forestry machinery in the municipality of the same name, located in Biobío region, for which seven Mapuche community members were sentenced to prison terms ranging from 15 to 17 years. However, defense attorneys and social organizations have reported that the trial relied on insufficient evidence, protected witnesses, and questionable procedures, prompting the filing of partial annulment appeals to the Supreme Court.
Family support networks have released updates on the health status of the five Mapuche political prisoners, indicating that since February 16, they have been on a liquid hunger strike for over 40 days.
The situation has worsened in the past week after two of the community members—Axel Campos and José Lienqueo—decided to escalate their protest to a dry hunger strike, refusing both food and water, leading to a critical deterioration in their health that necessitated their transfer to a medical facility.
“Today, community members Axel Campos and José Lienqueo are completing 7 days of dry hunger strike, totaling 43 days of protests, and they are being moved from the CCO in Temuco to a healthcare center,” reported Radio Kurruf.
Nonetheless, authorities have not provided information regarding their new location, although it is speculated they might be at the regional hospital in Temuco due to their serious condition.
The network provided information about the weight lost by the five community members after more than 40 days on a liquid hunger strike. This measure was adopted following their request to the Supreme Court for the annulment of their trial due to its irregularities, resulting in excessively harsh sentences.
In Cañupan’s specific case, it was noted that on February 16, he weighed 85 kg, while by March 30, he had dropped to 73.5 kg. Lienqueo dropped from 75.5 kg to 61.4 kg; Llaitul’s weight decreased from 96.6 kg to 74.5 kg; Campos went from 72.1 kg to 56.3 kg, and Garling fell from 76.4 kg to 59.9 kg.
International Solidarity Campaign for the Community Members in the Quilleco Case
Following the deterioration of their health after more than 40 days on a liquid hunger strike, an international solidarity campaign has recently been launched for the Mapuche political prisoners involved in the «Quilleco Case.»
The organizers of this initiative highlighted that five of the seven accused in this case are requesting the Supreme Court to partially annul the trial, transfers, and improvements in prison conditions.
«The trial, like many others against the Mapuche nation, is orchestrated and biased, aimed at favoring the interests of forestry companies,» they stated.
The call suggested that the judicialization of the territorial conflict relies on the criminalization and racial stigmatization of the Mapuche nation, denying their legitimate struggle for self-determination and the recovery of ancestral territories historically dispossessed for the benefit of settlers, landowners, and the forestry industry, with the backing of the Chilean state.
«The Chilean state protects the forestry industry, pursues the Mapuche nation, and seeks to outlaw their political struggle, blocking the only solution to the conflict: the restitution of ancestral territories and the political, economic, social, and cultural autonomy and sovereignty,» they emphasized.
In the statement, they declared that the physical integrity of the prisoners on hunger strike is the responsibility of the state and that solidarity and adherence to the international campaign are tools to break the isolation and lack of visibility regarding this situation,» reported Radio Kuruf.
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