Public statement by Rodrigo Montoya Melinao, Mapuche Political Prisoner on hunger strike, prison of Angol, Chile

Rodrigo Montoya with handcuffs

Angol, March 31, 2013

1. - I denounce to the national and international public opinion and to my Mapuche people that I am now 32 days on a hunger strike, for the unjust sentence that has been given to me and the bad faith of the judges who confirmed the bad work of the prosecutors, manufacturing setups, manipulating evidence and placing faceless witnesses violating the due process, all of which occurred in the trial they held against me, in which the same photographic surveys conducted by the prosecution were to reveal that it was not me and confirmed my innocence. In my defense I brought witnesses who testified where I was the day of the incident and they were not taken into account. My house was searched andthey did not find anything that the police searched for.

This trial has been one of the most irregular and bad, and yet I was sentenced to 5 years in prison.

Once again the political pressure and persecution of my Mapuche People for territorial claims is shown

2. - On Tuesday, April 2 of this year, the Arguments of the mistrial will take place in the Supreme Court in Santiago, so I call on the judges to abide by the laws and justice, whichthe judges that convicted me did not do. 

3. - I call on my Mapuche People, social organizations, Mapuche and non-Mapuche students to support me in this strike and to demonstrate on Tuesday, April 2 at the Tribunals of the Supreme Court in Santiago. 

FREEDOM TO ALL MAPUCHE POLITICAL PRISONERS!

Rodrigo Montoya Melinao

Source: Maricheweu International

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