SQM Case
Court absolves defendants in SQM case after 11-year process
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Santiago's Third Oral Criminal Court acquitted eight defendants in the SQM case by majority, including former senator Pablo Longueira and candidate Marco Enríquez-Ominami, criticizing the process's length and the prosecution's evidence quality. The verdict highlights a violation of the right to a timely trial after 11 years of investigation and a three-year trial. The sentence will be delivered in August 2026, leaving room for a nullity appeal.
Judge Claudia Santos, part of the tribunal that acquitted the accused in the SQM case, shared on Instagram the personal toll of the nearly three-year trial. The process, one of the longest since the penal reform, imposed significant costs on her health and family. A letter to the editor also criticizes the judiciary's role in the procedure's inefficiency.