Alberto Curamil acquitted by unanimous decision
On 13 December 2019, the Oral Tribunal in Temuco handed down a sentence of acquittal for Lonko Alberto Curamil for “raiding a compensation fund”, “gun theft” and “illegal possession of weapons”.
Due to the current political crisis in Chile the trial against Lonko Alberto Curamil has been postponed until 13 November 2019.
The first hearing against the Mapuche leader, Lonko Alberto Curamil, is due to take place on 21 October 2019 in the city of Temuco, Araucanía.
Alberto Curamil is an indigenous Mapuche lonko (traditional leader) and member of Alianza Territorial Mapuche (Mapuche Territorial Alliance) or ATM, an organization that works for the right to water and food, land and environmental rights in southern Chile. Lonko Alberto Curamil has worked tirelessly to defend and protect the environment in Curacautin, in the Mapuche region of Araucanía, particularly from destructive logging activities. Alberto’s leadership has led to the cancellation in 2016 of two hydroelectric projects that would have negatively impacted the sacred Cautín River. He is the winner of the Goldman Environmental Prize for South and Central America 2019.
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- 16 December 2019 : Alberto Curamil acquitted by unanimous decision
- 12 December 2019 : Trial against Alberto Curamil comes to an end
- 11 November 2019 : Alberto Curamil’s trial begins
- 22 October 2019 : Trial against Lonko Alberto Curamil postponed
- 16 October 2019 : Upcoming trial of Mapuche leader Alberto Curamil
On 13 December 2019, the Oral Tribunal in Temuco handed down a sentence of acquittal for Lonko Alberto Curamil for “raiding a compensation fund”, “gun theft” and “illegal possession of weapons”. The trial against the human rights defender has been marked by repeated postponements of hearings dates, principally due to the political crisis in Chile. The hearings finally began on 13 November 2019 and concluded last Friday, 13 December 2019. After more than a year in pretrial detention, Alberto Curamil was acquitted by a unanimous decision of the three judges of the court.
On 15 August 2018, Alberto Curamil was arrested along with another member of Alianza Territorial Mapuche (ATM), Álvaro Millalén, for the crimes of “raiding a compensation fund”, “gun theft” and “illegal possession of weapons”. The incidents allegedly took place in the town of Galvarino, far from the city where Alberto Curamil was at the time. The complaint presented to the police was anonymous, as were the witnesses who presented it. The identities of the complainants, essential in a criminal process, remained anonymous throughout the trial.
In April 2019, Alberto Curamil was awarded the Goldman Environmental Prize in recognition for his struggle for and leadership in environmental protection in Chile. Front Line Defenders believes that this judicial process could have been used as a tool to pave the way for new hydroelectric projects to enter the region without due obligation to inform and consult local communities.
Front Line Defenders welcomes the court's unanimous decision to acquit the environmental rights defender and release him from prison. In the wake of Lonko Alberto Curamil’s acquittal, Front Line Defenders calls on the Government of Chile and Auracanía to publicly acknowledge the essential work being carried out by environmental rights defenders in the country. In addition, Front Line Defenders urges such authorities to begin the process to compensate Lonko Alberto Curamil for his unjust imprisonment, with a view to make up for the moral and pecuniary damage suffered during his time in prison.
On 13 December 2019, the Tribunal in Temuco will pronounce its judgement in the trial against Lonko Alberto Curamil. He is accused of raiding a compensation fund, gun theft and illegal possetion of weapons. The trial against the human rights defender has been marked by repeated postponements of hearings dates, including due to the political crisis in Chile. The hearings finally began on 13 November 2019.
On 26 November 2019, the prosecutor presented a series of photographs of the crime scene of the alleged raid on the offices of a compensation fund in the town of Galvarino on 24 April 2018. These photographs were not included in the investigation folder at the initial stage. Despite this, the Court decided to include these documents as evidence in the case. For this reason, Lonko Alberto Curamil and other defendants refused to enter the courtroom as a sign of protest against the violation of the principles of due process and equality of arms. They were joined by other environmental rights defenders who also protested against impunity in the case of indigenous Mapuche leader Camilo Catrillanca and the repression suffered in the Angol prison, where three Mapuche indigenous were wounded on 25 November 2019.
Lonko Alberto Curamil was arrested on 14 August 2018 along with another member of the Mapuche Territorial Alliance (ATM), Álvaro Millalén. Alberto Curamil was charged with raiding a compensation fund (an entity that administrates social security benefits) in April 2018, as well as gun theft and illegal possession of weapons. The raid is alleged to have taken place in Galvarino, a town at considerable distance from the city where Alberto Curamil was at the time.
The human rights defender was charged after an anonymous call was made to a hotline of the Ministry of Interior. Several of the witnesses relied upon by the prosecution were also anonymous. Alberto Curamil and Álvaro Millalén have so far not been mentioned or recognised by any of the witnesses presented at trial.
Since 2013, Lonko Alberto Curamil publicly denounced the construction of two mega hydroelectric projects and rallied communities against it. The construction was proposed without the consultation of the Mapuche people and would have severely affected their sacred river. These projects, known as Alto Cautín and Doña Alicia, would have diverted over 500 million gallons of water per day from the Cautín River for power generation, damaging ecosystems and aggravating the existing droughts in the region.
Alberto Curamil's leadership led to the suspension of the two hydroelectric projects in 2015 and 2018. His detention is believed to be an attempt to weaken opposition to the projects before reinstating the projects. The Public Prosecutor's Office has asked for 46-year imprisonment against Alberto Curamil, while the government of Chile, through the Intendencia de la Araucanía, the plaintiff in the case, has asked for 50 years.
Front Line Defenders reiterates its concern for the criminalisation of Alberto Curamil, which it believes to be in retaliation for his work for the protection of the environment.
After being postponed due to the recent political crisis in Chile, the trial against Mapuche leader Alberto Curamil will take place on 13 November 2019 at 9:00am at the Oral Trial Court in the city of Temuco. It is estimated that the trial will last one month.
On 15 August 2018, Alberto Curamil was detained with another member of Alianza Territorial Mapuche (ATM), Alvaro Millalén. Alberto Curamil is being accused of illegally raiding a compensation fund (an entity administering social security benefits) in April 2018, as well as gun theft and the illegal possession of weapons. The incidents are alleged to have taken place in the town of Galvarino, a great distance from the city where Alberto Curamil was at the time. The complaint made to the police was anonymous, as were the witnesses to the alleged crime. Alberto Curamil has worked tirelessly to defend and protect the environment in Curacautin, in the Mapuche region of Araucanía, particularly from destructive logging activities. In 2013, he publicly denounced the construction of two mega hydroelectric projects and rallied communities against it. The construction was proposed without the consultation of the Mapuche people and would have severely affected their sacred river. These projects, known respectively as Alto Cautín and Doña Alicia, would have diverted over 500 million gallons of water per day from the Cautín River for power generation, damaging ecosystems and aggravating the existing droughts in the region. Alberto Curamil’s leadership led to the cancellation in 2016 of the two hydroelectric projects. In this regard, it is believed that Alberto Curamil’s detention may be designed to help pave the way for new hydroelectric projects in the region without the need to inform or consult local communities.
Front Line Defenders believes that Alberto Curamil has been falsely accused of engaging in a number of illegal activities as a direct result of his work to protect the environment. It calls on the authorities in Chile to ensure that his trial, for which the human rights defender could face almost 50 years in prison, is conducted in a fair, independent and law-abiding manner.
Due to the current political crisis in Chile the trial against Lonko Alberto Curamil has been postponed until 13 November 2019. The postponement has occurred in the context of the deeply concerning repression of social protests in Chile. The demonstrations started on 18 October 2019 due to the rise in the price of transportation, but have come to incorporate other demands like the precarious pension and education systems and impunity on tax evasion. Currently, demonstrations are being held in different parts of the country and military forces have been deployed on the streets of Santiago, Valparaiso and Concepción.
Front Line Defenders is deeply concerned about the governments imposed state of emergency, which enables the army to police demonstrations and set a curfew. Furthermore, we show our rejection at the number of human rights defenders and civilians that have been seriously injured and killed in the context of the repression of the right to freedom of assembly and expression.
The first hearing against the Mapuche leader, Lonko Alberto Curamil, is due to take place on 21 October 2019 in the city of Temuco, Araucanía. The human rights defender has been wrongly accused of engaging in a number of criminal activities for which the Attorney General's Office is asking for a sentence of over 50 years in prison. The hearing has been postponed four times by the General Prosecutor in 2019 due to unnecessary delays in submitting the case to court. As a result, Lonko Alberto Curamil has been kept in pretrial detention for 14 months.
Alberto Curamil is an indigenous Mapuche lonko (traditional leader) and member of Alianza Territorial Mapuche (Mapuche Territorial Alliance) or ATM, an organization that works for the right to water and food, land and environmental rights in southern Chile. Lonko Alberto Curamil has worked tirelessly to defend and protect the environment in Curacautin, in the Mapuche region of Araucanía, particularly from destructive logging activities. Alberto’s leadership has led to the cancellation in 2016 of two hydroelectric projects that would have negatively impacted the sacred Cautín River. He is the winner of the Goldman Environmental Prize for South and Central America 2019.
In 2013, Lonko Alberto Curamil publicly denounced the construction of two mega hydroelectric projects and rallied communities against it. The construction was proposed without the consultation of the Mapuche people and would have severely affected their sacred river. These projects, known respectively as Alto Cautín and Doña Alicia, would have diverted over 500 million gallons of water per day from the Cautín River for power generation, damaging ecosystems and aggravating the existing droughts in the region. As a reprisal, in 2014, police arrested Curamil and two other Mapuche leaders, accusing them of disorderly conduct and causing public unrest. Curamil was beaten while in custody, and his wife, then pregnant, was also physically harmed by the police. In 2016, Alto Cautín hydro project was canceled by Chilean environmental authorities due to public opposition from the communities. Having failed to address the environmental impacts of the project or consult the Mapuche people, Doña Alicia was also later canceled.
On 15 August 2018, Alberto Curamil was detained with other member of ATM, Alvaro Millalén. Alberto Curamil is being accused of illegally raiding a compensation fund (an entity administering social security benefits) in April 2018, as well as for gun theft and the illegal possession of weapons. The incidents are alleged to have taken place in the town of Galvarino, a great distance from the city where Alberto Curamil was at the time. The complaint made to the police was anonymous, as were the witnesses to the alleged crime. It is believed that Alberto Curamil’s detention may be used as a tool to pave the way for new hydroelectric projects in the region without the need to inform or consult local communities. Family members, colleagues and allies have launched an international solidarity campaign asking for his release.
Since Alberto’s detention, members of his family, including two minors, have also been targeted with attacks and intimidation, including harassment, search and destruction of their dwelling, drones spotted flying overhead, monitoring by unidentified individuals, anonymous calls to their neighbours containing insults and slander, among other intimidating acts. Any appeals filed before Chilean justice authorities have not been accepted or yielded any result.
Front Line Defenders is deeply concerned at the misuse of criminal law against human rights defenders in Chile. It sees this as a retaliation for their work protecting indigenous and environmental rights and believes it to be particularly worrying given the history in Chile of fabricating charges and applying terrorism law against Mapuche leaders and their supporters.
Front Line Defenders expresses concern over the ongoing criminalisation of Mapuche leaders and the effect that the imprisonment of Alberto Curamil may cause in the fight for environmental and Mapuche rights in the Araucania region. In addition, Front Line Defenders reiterates its call to the Chilean authorities to sign, ratify and implement the Escazú Agreement, in order to provide an enabling environment for the defence of environmental rights in the country.
