The Medical Legal Service (SML) issued a public statement denying presidential candidate Johannes Kaiser's claims that the state holds thousands of unanalyzed human remains from dictatorship victims. The forensic body clarified that no unexamined bones exist in its facilities and praised the National Search Plan as a key contribution. Kaiser called the initiative a 'scam' and vowed to prioritize remains identification if elected.
On Saturday, the Medical Legal Service (SML), under the Ministry of Justice, categorically responded to statements by Johannes Kaiser, a deputy and presidential candidate for the National Libertarian Party. Kaiser had claimed that there are “thousands of protocols of disappeared detainees” unexamined at the SML, accusing the government of neglecting remains held for over 20 years that were “damaged due to lack of responsibility.” He also labeled the National Plan for the Search of Detained and Disappeared Persons a “scam,” funded with billions of pesos without advancing pending identifications, and called the executive “heartless” on human rights, noting that President Gabriel Boric failed to deliver remains to families after the 50th anniversary of the 1973 coup.
The SML stated that “no unexamined bones exist in its facilities,” and that “all material and evidence recovered from discovery sites has been analyzed or is currently in the process of analysis, in accordance with current judicial requirements.” The body emphasized its role as a “technical advisor to the Judiciary, acting exclusively under the mandate of visiting ministers appointed by the courts of justice.” Positive identifications require “genetic samples from possible family members,” and it valued the National Search Plan—implemented by Boric's government—as “a significant contribution to expanding the genetic database and facilitating identification work.”
The SML acknowledged challenges such as bone deterioration and lack of information due to “pacts of silence” persisting from the dictatorship, reaffirming its “commitment to truth, justice, and memory through rigorous, scientific, and transparent work in service of families, the Judiciary, and society as a whole.” In response, Kaiser pledged that under his government, “one of the first measures we will take is to allocate all necessary resources to identify the remains and deliver them to their families,” highlighting that “many mothers and relatives are dying without being able to give them a Christian burial.”
This exchange adds to the debate on the National Search Plan's future. Candidate Evelyn Matthei stated it would be maintained but “function quite differently,” as for some sectors “it is not search, it is vengeance.” The presidential elections are scheduled for November 16.