Offices of Londres 38 vandalised for the third time this year
On 5 December 2020, a group of individuals with known links to the extreme right stole a canvas which was part of a display commemorating the anniversary of the murder of human rights defender Camilo Catrillanca. The canvas was stolen from the premises of the centre of historical memory, Londres 38, in Santiago.
Londres 38 is a centre of historical memory and a private law corporation, founded in 2005 as a Functional Community Organization (OCF). During the military dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet, the space was used as a detention and torture centre by the dictatorship. Today, Londres 38 is a space for dialogue, as it endeavours to promote truth and justice, furthers the investigation into the history of the dictatorship, and denounces human rights violations.
On 5 December 2020, a group of individuals with known links to the extreme right stole a canvas which was part of a display commemorating the anniversary of the murder of human rights defender Camilo Catrillanca. The canvas was stolen from the premises of the centre of historical memory, Londres 38, in Santiago.
Londres 38 is a centre of historical memory and a private law corporation, founded in 2005 as a Functional Community Organization (OCF). During the military dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet, the space was used as a detention and torture centre by the dictatorship. Today, Londres 38 is a space for dialogue, as it endeavours to promote truth and justice, furthers the investigation into the history of the dictatorship, and denounces human rights violations.
On the evening of the 5 December 2020, four individuals known to be linked to the extreme right movement “Capitalismo Revolucionario” stole a canvas which was part of a display commemorating the anniversary of the murder of human rights defender Camilo Catrillanca from the premises of the centre of historical memory, Londres 38, in Santiago. Later that day, a video was released on social media showing the leader of an extreme right movement and other individuals trampling on the canvas, and posting hateful comments against human rights defender Camilo Catrillanca, who was killed on 14 November 2018 by an antiterrorism police squad. On the night of the 5 December, a video showing individuals climbing the walls of the Londres 38 building and tearing off the canvas in commemoration of the murder of Camilo Catrillanca, was published on the You Tube account “Cap rev live”. Londres 38 has incorporated this attack into a criminal complaint which they filed earlier this year before the seventh guarantee court of Santiago for previous attacks against the historical memory centre.
Unfortunately, this act of vandalism is only the latest in an ongoing and intensifying trend of attacks against the Londres 38 organisation. On 24 July 2020, unknown individuals vandalized the outer walls of the premises of Londres 38. The graffiti included offensive messages of support for Pinochet’s dictatorship, such as ‘Viva Pinochet’, as well as the symbol of the far-right organisation, Patria y Libertad. On 18 October 2019, a poster promoting justice and truth was stolen from outside the organisation’s building where it was hanging. A little over a week later, on 27 October, an arson attack was carried out on the Londres 28 building.
Despite the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights call urging the Chilean state to investigate attacks against Londres 38, to adopt measures to ensure the preservation of such memorial spaces during its last visit in February 2020, and the multiple complaints that Londres 38 reported to the corresponding authorities, to date, neither the judicial or security bodies have notified the organisation of their intention to investigate the systematic attacks. Front Line Defenders reiterates its concern regarding the series of systematic attacks against Londres 38 and believes they constitute a broad strategy of intimidation against Londres 30 for its legitimate efforts to promote truth and justice for the serious human rights violations committed during Augusto Pinochet’s dictatorship in Chile.
