This Saturday was confirmed the death of Cristián Valdebenito, the 48-year-old man who last night entered the Central Posta after suffering a serious head injury that would have been the result of a tear-drop bomb in the close to The Plaza de la Dignidad.
According to the medical side, the man suffered severe head trauma during recorded incidents amid the demonstrations in Santiago. The National Institute of Human Rights reported, for its part, that “as referred to by the Samu who transferred him to the Posta, and the witness account, would have been a tear-gas bomb impact, all of which is part of the prosecution’s investigation.” Social protests came back strongly on Friday after the holiday lethargy of the summer months, with hundreds of thousands of people protesting against the Piñera government.
Although the demonstration took place mostly peacefully, on the corner of Ramón Corvalán street with the Alameda there were violent clashes between hooded and Special Forces of Carabineros. In the midst of the dismantling, Cristián Valdebenito was injured by a blunt element, which caused a severe head trauma.
The victim was urgently referred to the Central Posta, where due to the serious injury he died at about noon on Saturday, they confirmed from the care precinct.
The National Institute for Human Rights expressed its repudiation of death and regretted that eye injuries and impacts and other serious injuries have increased on Friday night.
“All of which imposes on us the duty to remind police forces that the control of public order and the use of force must always be proportionate and respecting international human rights standards. Violation of fundamental rights is something that should not be tolerated and the INDH will pursue these violations with all the legal tools it possesses,” they said from the agency.
Neither the Government nor Carabinieri have spoken out on the issue confirming whether the death of man was due to the impact of the tear bomb, even though the medical side indicated that the death was caused by the blow of a blunt object.
It should be remembered that in the same sector of Plaza de la Dignidad, on Friday, December 20, another protester lost his life. This time it was Mauritius Fredes, who died after falling into an electrocuted pit containing water.
