Ill-treatment in the Chilean prison system – an analysis of reports presented by the National Institute of Human Rights (INDH) and their handling by the legal actors

Introduction: Prisons in Latin America are often described as violent and lawless places. This article analyses the Chilean case. We want to find out how complaints of ill-treatment are investigated if the victim is in prison. Our hypothesis is that the response to the phenomenon, both in the prosecution of the perpetrators and in the protection of its victims, does not take into consideration the guidelines established in international standards, especially those contained in the Istanbul Protocol. Methods: We analysed a total of 124 complaints of ill-treatment filed by the Chilean National Human Rights Institute (INDH). Results: An excessive amount of time elapses between the alleged ill treatment, the filing of complaints, the use of protective measures, and the termination of the cases. There are serious deficiencies in the investigations carried out by the Public Prosecutor’s Office, and therefore, most of the complaints are not clarified and end up being shelved. We conclude that, through both the actions of the judges and the prosecutors in the processing of the complaints, when it comes to investigating acts of ill-treatment inside Chilean prisons, the standards of the Istanbul Protocol are not met.