Emilia Schneider, trans student leader, booked by the Chilean police

His name is among the more than ten thousand documents from the institution that were leaked last week in a case that the local press dubbed “PacoLeaks”.

November 4, 2019

By Airam Fernández, from Santiago, Chile

A file containing the photo and information of Emilia Schneider, a transgender leader and president of the Federation of Students of the University of Chile (FECh), appeared on a list of people and entities monitored by the Chilean National Police (Carabineros). Her name is among the more than ten thousand documents from the institution that were leaked last week in a case dubbed “PacoLeaks” by the local press, following a massive hack of several departments, including the Intelligence division.

The malicious code detected on October 22nd became the third and most serious leak from this police institution, containing reports on the "monitoring" of social movements and unions, as well as files on student and environmental leaders considered "targets of interest," such as Emilia. Some of these files were in a folder titled "State of Alert in October." The local media outlet Interferencia gained access to some of these files, the authenticity of which had been previously confirmed to Ciper ).

“Political persecution is unacceptable in a democratic regime and a state governed by the rule of law because it undermines freedom of thought, especially when it involves the intervention of public institutions that guarantee pluralistic debate. The right wing and the Chilean government are going from bad to worse,” wrote the president of the FECH (Federation of Chilean Students) on her Twitter account. As of the time of publication, Presentes was unable to reach Emilia, as she has been leading assemblies, town hall meetings, and demonstrations in various parts of Santiago since Monday morning. The city has been ablaze with protests against inequality for the past two weeks.

Yesterday, the FECH (Federation of Chilean Students) issued a statement rejecting this type of persecution and calling on the Ministry of the Interior and the Director of the Chilean National Police (Carabineros) to address this and other situations. “We categorically reject the actions of the Carabineros and the public security forces, who invest resources and time in persecuting social leaders, social and political organizations, and members of the University of Chile without any justification. It is unacceptable in a democratic society to label individuals and organizations as targets of interest because of their political and ideological positions, actions that clearly constitute political persecution and, therefore, a violation of fundamental rights,” the statement reads.

According to investigative report 190831GI421476GA, on August 30th at least one member of the Carabineros (Chilean police force) infiltrated an event held at the university to commemorate the International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances, which was attended by approximately 100 people. The spy's observations resulted in the report revealed by Interferencia, in which Emilia is listed as a "target of interest" along with 11 other student leaders.

“We believe it is particularly worrying that the Government, through the Carabineros and the public force, seeks to intervene in public universities like ours, which should be an autonomous space,” the Fech adds in its statement.

We are Present

We are committed to a type of journalism that delves deeply into the realm of the world and offers in-depth research, combined with new technologies and narrative formats. We want the protagonists, their stories, and their struggles to be present.