Claims of Extreme Isolation for Mapuche Community Members Held in Coronel Prison

Original article: Denuncian aislamiento extremo de comuneros mapuche recluidos en cárcel de Coronel

It is alleged that five detainees endure 22 hours of confinement daily without having faced trial in Concepción prison.

This week, serious concerns were raised regarding the dire prison conditions faced by five members of the Lavkenche people at the Biobío Correctional Facility. The detainees have reportedly been subjected to a strict regime of isolation and communication restrictions for several months, despite not yet facing trial and remaining in pre-trial detention.

According to a statement, the community members are confined to their cells for 22 hours each day, with very limited time for outdoor exercise and severe restrictions on contacting the outside world. Their defenders have described this situation as an «institutionalization of pre-punishment,» accusing the Chilean Gendarmerie of exceeding its authority and violating international treaties concerning the treatment of prisoners.

They pointed out that this regime is discriminatory and aims to undermine the will of the Mapuche Political Prisoners (PPM), also highlighting that such extreme security measures adversely affect the mental health of the inmates and hinder the preparation of their legal defenses. With no firm sentence in place, they argue that the State is effectively applying a preemptive sentence through punitive confinement, disregarding the principle of presumption of innocence and the basic rights of anyone deprived of liberty.

In light of this situation, the mapuche communities and lov of Meli Witxan Mapu have called for «mobilization and reorganization» to bring attention to what is happening within the walls of Concepción prison. The central demand is for the «immediate cessation of the isolation regime» and that a dignified treatment be ensured according to current human rights standards.

Auka Castro, a spokesperson for the Mapuche political prisoners, stated to El Ciudadano from Arauco that «five Mapuche political prisoners are in a situation of confinement for 22 hours a day and also cut off from communication with other community members.» He adds that «they find themselves in this situation mainly because the charges against them are of significant public interest, yet no verdict or conviction has been reached.»