NEW TESTIMONY AGAINST FILM MAKER VARELA KEEPS HER IN JAIL

The Rancagua judge overseeing the case of jailed documentary film maker Elena Varela decided on Friday to deny her bail, based on new testimony linking Varela to armed assaults made by members of the Chilean Leftist Revolutionary Movement (MIR). An unidentified witness claimed to have met Varela, known as ‘La Negra,’ and her partner, Gabriel, in a restaurant in Temuco (Region IX). The three allegedly discussed renting a car to carry out an assault in an unspecified city close to Santiago. Gabriel was later identified as Juan Moreno Venegas, the leader of the MIR cell. “I remember when I went to Gabriel's house in Pucón,” another witness testified. “‘La Negra’ told everyone to be careful because there were guns in the house.” According to the testimony, in June 2005 members of this MIR cell allegedly assaulted an INP bank in Machalí, a Region VI rural community outside of Rancagua. The witness claimed that after the assault, everyone involved, including Varela, hid in a house in Pucón. Prosecutors also claim to have recovered Varela’s cell phone chip after a bank assault in the Region IX city of Loncoche. Varela has been in jail since May 7, when she was arrested while filming “Newen Mapuche,” a documentary about contemporary Mauphe life, indigenous rights, and land disputes between Chile's largest indigenous community and the government. The Chilean government's Ministry of Culture had funded Varela's documentary.  Considered a prisoner of conscious by Amnesty International, lawyers and human rights groups continue to protest her internment. The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights has agreed to hear her case due to a lack of due process and limited access to representation during court appearances (ST, July 4, 2008).   Since her arrest, authorities have confiscated Varela’s equipment and numerous hours of film.   The filmmaker defended her innocence at last week’s hearing and denied participating in the violent assaults. “My expertise is in art, music and film. I am not capable of managing an assault,” Varela said. “I am being detained because of my thoughts and because I have met people in the past that chose to handle their social grievances through violence. Some people planned violent assaults as a way to deal with political issues, but I am not capable of that.”     SOURCE: LA TERCERA, LA NACIÓN Monday, 14 July 2008 By Jason Snyder