Chile's Public Defender (DPP) filed an amparo writ on Tuesday before the Valdivia Court of Appeals to challenge the Security Ministry's standing to invoke the State Security Law (LSE) in the complaint against attackers of Minister Ximena Lincolao. The DPP represents two of the three defendants and cites the law's legislative history. It argues that only the Interior Ministry holds that authority.
On the morning of Tuesday, May 5, 2026, Chile's Public Defender filed the amparo writ defending Pablo Vásquez and María Jesús Madariaga, two of the three students charged with assaulting Science Minister Ximena Lincolao.
Valdivia's Guarantee Court had ruled admissible the complaint's expansion filed by Security Minister Trinidad Steinert, who invoked the State Security Law (LSE). The DPP argues that expansion is unlawful because the authority to file such complaints under the LSE lies solely with the Interior Ministry and presidential delegations.
The amparo references the legislative history of the law creating the Security Ministry. The document notes that legislative processing involved a divergence settled in a Joint Committee, which deliberately decided to keep the authority with Interior. “The proposal to maintain said authority in the Interior Ministry was put to a vote and approved by the majority of its members,” states the writ signed by defenders Juan Pablo Alday and Luis Soto.
The Joint Committee's report was approved by the Senate on December 3, 2024, and by the Chamber of Deputies on December 4 of that year. The DPP warns that failing to overturn the admissibility threatens the defendants' personal liberty, exposing them to major prison terms for an allegedly improper offense.
