Bachelet government seek to repeal dictator Pinochet's Amnesty Law
Saturday, September 13th 2014 - 07:02 UTC
Bachelet government seek to repeal dictator Pinochet's Amnesty Law
As Chileans commemorated the 41 st anniversary of the 1973 military coup, Justice Minister José Antonio Gomez announced that the government of Michelle Bachelet will seek to repeal the Amnesty Law, a legacy of the dictatorship of General Augusto Pinochet.
The law covers the period from September 1973 to April 1978. Although Pinochet remained in power until 1990, the period covered by the law was the most brutal in terms of human right violations.
The law allows human rights abusers to avoid prison even when crimes against humanity are not subject to statute of limitations.
Gómez said the government will press for Congress to debate the annulment of the law, on the basis of a bill that Senator Guido Girardi introduced in 2006.
The repeal is likely to pass easily, considering that the ruling coalition has a simple majority in both chambers. A relatively large number of members of the Chilean military have been tried and convicted for abuses, most of which happened after 1978.
More:
http://en.mercopress.com/2014/09/13/bachelet-government-seek-to-repeal-dictator-pinochet-s-amnesty-law
