Daily Archives: 20/08/2012

On August 12, 2009 a 24-year-old Mapuche man named Jaime Mendoza Collío was shot and killed by Miguel Patricio Jara Muñoz, a Chilean police officer (carabinero). The shooting occurred in the context of a land dispute over traditional Mapuche territory. Within a week, the officer was charged with using unnecessary force that resulted in death, and has defended himself by arguing that the force was justifiable given the circumstances. The courts repeatedly rejected Jara’s claims of self-defense and, after many appeals, Jara was sentenced to five years and one day in prison in November of 2011. On Saturday, August 18th, the Chilean military court system, announced that it was abandoning the earlier conviction on the grounds that Jara’s actions were done in self-defense. Continue reading →