The “Temuco 12”, twelve Mapuche warriors from different communities in struggle facing decades of imprisonment under the antiterrorism law, have been acquitted of all charges. Anarchists and others supported those facing charges or pressured Chilean consulates to drop the charges.
The need for solidarity continues. The twelve have already faced past legal harassment, including accusations under the antiterrorism law. In all probability, the Chilean state will try again to lock them up.
There are still plenty of reasons to continue the solidarity campaign called for previously. Anyone contacting the Chilean embassy should note that the “Temuco Bypass” case has ended, but the use of antiterrorism laws against the Mapuche struggle continues. The Temuco Bombs Case against three anarchists also continues.
Article from paismapuche.org
Temucuicui Autónoma: Acquittal of Mapuche in Temuco demonstrates political frame-up of the Chilean State
Aug 22, 2013
Public Statement regarding acquittal in the BYPASS TEMUCO case
The autonomous Mapuche community of Temucuicui, regarding the acquittal of our brothers in the BYPASS case, we issue to the local, national and international public the following:
1.- Yesterday, Wednesday the 21st, in the Oral Criminal Court of the city of Temuco, came the acquittal of all of our mapuche brothers accused of attacks against a bus of the company Tur Bus and three trucks at the Temuco bypass, which occurred in july 2009, and in which José Queipul Huaiquil was charged, a member of our community.
2.- The court fully and conclusively gave their verdict that: “We are fully convinced that the incriminating evidence presented by the prosecutor of the Public Ministry and the government represented by the Ministry of the Interior is WEAK, POOR and VAGUE, to establish the crimes described in the accusations” inasmuch as they acquitted all our mapuche brothers.
3.- We should note that the evidence presented by the prosecution, was linked to proving the existence of the crime and the mapuche brothers’ participation in the act, for this the prosecutor presented the statement of a protected witness named RAUL CASTRO ANTIPAN, someone with a long criminal record, branded as a common criminal. This one piece of evidence, the Public Ministry and the Ministry of the Interior used to apply the Antiterrorist Law and force our brothers to spend a year in incarceration and three under injunctions that impeded freedom of movement.
4.- For the people of the Mapuche Nation and especially for our community, this new acquittal completely demonstrates our brothers’ innocence, it also clearly establishes the historical discrimination and racism of the Chilean state, that through its repressive legal apparatus headed by the antimapuche prosecutor, prepares and orchestrates montajes against our people, with the objective of criminalizing and halting the just territorial and political claims of the nation of Mapuche people and especially the communities mobilized in resistance.
5.- We call on the public in general to get informed and understand that all the accusations against the leaders and traditional authorities of the mapuche have a political objective manipulated by the Government. With the acquittal of our brothers, the justice and public statements of the Government lose validity, they are guilty of keeping the public confused, in that they do not want to recognize that they maintain a historic debt to the mapuche people.
Marrichiweu
Autonomous Community of Temucuicui
Wallmapu
Solidarity Trip to Chile, Bolivia, and Walmapu 