Chile studies creating a special prison for members of indigenous peoples

MADRID, 26 Dic. (EUROPA PRESS) -

The Chilean Ministry of Justice is analyzing the feasibility of creating an exclusive prison for prisoners who are members of indigenous peoples.

"There is a group of parliamentarians from both the opposition and the ruling party who have already formally proposed to us the possibility of a penitentiary establishment for people who are serving sentences and who are part of the Mapuche people. We are evaluating it," explained the undersecretary Chilean Justice Jaime Gajardo, in statements to the newspaper 'La Tercera'.

Thus, it has indicated that the Government is reviewing the costs of this measure "and if it is indeed possible within the framework established by Convention 169 of the (International Labor Organization) ILO", in reference to the specific regulations for compliance with the Rights of indigenous peoples.

"There must be security for the inmates, their families and also for the gendarmes, and thus put an end to the riots in the streets of the cities where the prisons are currently located," he said.

This announcement comes months after the Chilean Minister of Justice, Marcela Ríos, met with deputies from different benches in the framework of prison benefits granted to indigenous community members, while discussing the administrative transfer of inmates who were in hunger strike at the Angol prison in southern Chile.