Chilean Accused of Pinochet-Era Kidnaps Loses Extradition Battle in Australia
A 72-year-old Chilean woman, Adriana Rivas, suspected of participating in the kidnapping and torture of political opponents during General Augusto Pinochet’s military regime, has had her lengthy legal challenge against extradition from Australia dismissed.
Background to the Allegations
Ms Rivas, who relocated to Australia in 1978 and worked as a nanny and cleaner in Sydney, has been the subject of an extradition request from Chile for 12 years. Chilean authorities allege her involvement in the disappearance of seven individuals before her emigration. Ms Rivas has consistently denied these accusations.
The Pinochet era, from 1973 to 1990, saw widespread human rights abuses, with over 40,000 people politically persecuted and approximately 3,000 killed.
Legal Proceedings and Future
Ms Rivas was first apprehended during a visit to Chile in 2006 but returned to Australia while on bail. Chile subsequently lodged an official extradition request in 2014. On Monday, a federal judge rejected her legal team's arguments that the request was legally flawed. While an appeal to the full federal court remains a possibility, its feasibility is currently uncertain.
A lawyer representing the victims' families expressed profound satisfaction with the recent ruling. Barring a further appeal, Ms Rivas is expected to be returned to Chile to face trial on charges of aggravated kidnapping.
Role in the Pinochet Regime
Ms Rivas served as the personal secretary to Manuel Contreras, the infamous head of Chile's secret police, Dina (National Intelligence Directorate), between 1973 and 1976. Human rights activists have long maintained her active involvement in the abduction and torture of dissidents. Dina agents were responsible for the disappearance, torture, and killing of thousands of individuals during the regime.
In a 2013 interview with Australian broadcaster SBS, Ms Rivas described her time with Dina as “the best of my life” but denied any wrongdoing concerning torture, stating, “they had to break the people – it has happened all over the world, not only in Chile.” Chilean prosecutors specifically accuse her of participation in the 1976 forced disappearance of Víctor Díaz, secretary-general of Chile's Communist Party, and six other party members, including a pregnant Reinalda del Carmen Pereira Plaza. Documents from Chile's extradition request state Ms Rivas “took part in the detention… of the victims while she served as guard and in other operative roles.”
