Chile’s national police committed “serious human rights violations” as weeks of violent demonstrations across the South American country claimed 25 lives, Human Rights Watch said Tuesday in a report calling for reform of the force. HRW said the police, known as Carabineros, “committed serious human rights violations, including excessive use of force in the streets and abuses in detention,” during the protests. “We recognize the value of the Human Rights Watch report and the recommendations that have been made to us,” said Lorena Recabarren, the Chilean minister with responsibility for human rights. Due to the high number of injuries and pressure from humanitarian groups, police said they would stop using such weapons. In Santiago, thousands gathered for a march downtown that riot police eventually broke up by deploying water cannons.

Source: Egypt Independent November 27, 2019 05:48 UTC