The Chief of Police relocated 10 of the victims to different police stations in the province; The complaint opposed the measure.
Ten of the 20 inmates who were attacked by police while they were housed at the Yerba Buena police station were transferred to facilities in different parts of the province by order of the Chief of Police. The transfers caused controversy within the Judiciary.
On Tuesday, April 30, 19 members of the police force were charged by the prosecutor Mariana Rivadeneira for the crimes of harassment and illegal coercion, aggravated injuries and cover-up, after in the early hours of January 16, 2023, Infantry personnel entered one of the cells of the Yerba Buena police station where 20 detainees were sleeping, stripped them naked and They hit them with tongas, causing wounds all over their bodies.
The judge Maria Soledad Hernandez He ordered a restraining order of 200 meters, for a period of six months, in favor of the victims. In addition, he sent a letter to the Chief of Police, Joaquin Girveauso that you are aware of the situation and take it into account when transferring the accused troops.
Upon learning of the measure, Girveau showed his support for the accused police officers and warned that he would not relocate them but rather the detainees. On Friday the 3rd, he coordinated the transfer of 10 of the 20 victims who were still serving their sentences in the Yerba Buena and Marti Coll facilities. The detainees were taken to different police stations in the province, including Aguilares, El Tala and Lastenia.
According to the civil commissioner of the Provincial Commission for the Prevention of Torture, Fernando Korstanje, the inmates left the facility deceived that they were going out for a medical check-up. “They were not notified to collect their belongings, their medication and the coat they had available. The decision of the Chief of Police regarding the transfer of these people was not consulted with them, nor was their family informed, much less the destination of the new accommodation,” he said in his report.
The complainant Carlos Garmendia sent a corrective habeas corpus requesting that Girveau report the whereabouts of the transferred detainees and that all of them be returned to their places of accommodation of origin. “This arbitrary decision by the Chief of Police is an illegitimate aggravation, because it is not what the judge had ordered and because there was no need to transfer anyone because the accused police officers were no longer serving at the Yerba Buena police station since January 2023. This was absolute revenge against the prisoners. Here it is not discussed whether they are guilty or not of the crimes they committed, but rather the torture they suffered is investigated,” said the lawyer.
The Chief of Police, for his part, argued that he ordered the transfer since during family visits the collaboration of the Northern Infantry is usually requested to provide security during these days, which is why he relocated the prisoners to prevent them from having contact with the accused and thus “avoid engaging in judicial disobedience.”
The habeas corpus was rejected by the judge Alejandro Javier Tomas, so Garmendia challenged the sentence. “Now it is in the hands of the judge Laura Casas, of the Court of Appeal. “She requested a new report and we are waiting for her habeas corpus resolution,” the complainant explained.
