Journalist Simon Boricbrother of President Gabriel Boric and in charge of communications at the University of Chile, was attacked near the university on Thursday afternoon.
Four adults were arrested by Carabineros after what happened. One of them has a record in his police record for participating in the burning of a collective locomotion bus and another for not respecting health regulations.
The affected party, meanwhile, whose mobile phone was also stolen, went to the Clinical Hospital of the University of Chile a verify injuries. The President himself went to that care facility to see his brother.
In the midst of a series of incidents that occurred in the center of Santiago this day, the journalist would have intervened to prevent subjects from looting a business premises. It was then that he began to be attacked by those who participated in the disturbances, most of them minors. Three other university officials were also affected.
“We strongly condemn the violence that four members of our community received today and that personally affected the chief of staff of the rectory”pointed out the rector of the University of Chile, Rosa Devés.
The university issued a statement condemning the events.
“Today at noon, a group of people beat and violated four members of our community: Simón Boric, Chief of Staff of the Rectory; Francisca Palma, Communications coordinator; Jorge Baeza and Raúl Roa, both officials from the Central House”, they detailed.
According to the text, the attack on the officials took place on the outskirts of the emblematic Alameda building, “after one of them rebuked them about an attempted looting of a nearby premises, involving the other three people who They came to his defense.”
“As the University of Chile, we strongly condemn this act of unnecessary and irrational violence. We believe that in the current social and political scenario the correct path must always be that of dialogue. We call for these types of situations to make us reflect on the way we relate to each other, and on the country we want to build”, closes the statement from the University of Chile.
The government also came out to repudiate the aggression of which the president’s brother and three other officials were victims. “We learned of this situation that we find very serious, the President is aware and as soon as we have more details we will be able to deliver some more complete information, beyond repudiating this aggression against four officials from the University of Chile,” said the Minister of the General Secretariat of the Presidency, Giorgio Jackson, from La Moneda during the afternoon.
Various political sectors also came out to condemn the attack.
“An inexcusable cowardly act has been committed in the Alameda against Simón Boric. There are detainees and enough cameras to individualize these antisocials and their motivations. My total and unrestricted solidarity with the President’s brother,” said the Socialist Senator José Miguel Insulza.
For his part, the deputy for RN Andres Longton, expressed that “we cannot continue with this escalation of violence, we have the duty to be forceful in condemning and persecuting those who seek to take away our right to live together in peace. All my solidarity with Simón Boric”.
