Ex-nanny’s fight over crimes against humanity claims
A former Sydney nanny accused of torturing and kidnapping a notorious Chilean dictator claims she will be tried for crimes against humanity if extradited to her home country.
Adriana Elcira Rivas, who immigrated to Australia in the late 1970s and worked as a nanny in Bondi, has been locked in a seven-year legal battle since her arrest by NSW Police in 2019 at the request of Chile.
He is accused of working in the intelligence services during the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet and of playing a role in the disappearance and torture of seven people, including a woman who was five months pregnant.
Rivas, now in his 70s, denies the allegations and has been fighting for years to prevent his extradition to the South American country on seven serious kidnapping charges.
In his latest challenge in the Federal Court on Monday, his lawyer said the Australian government failed to understand how the crimes were defined by Chile.
“It is clear that the Chilean legal system will prosecute or punish the applicant for crimes against humanity,” Sean Baron Levi said.
He added that while such a prosecution would mean Rivas could theoretically face the death penalty, there was no suggestion such a charge would actually be sought.
The court was told Chile had assured the Australian government that the elderly woman would not be tried for any offenses other than seven counts of aggravated kidnapping.
The Australian government’s lawyer, Trent Glover SC, said extradition was sought because of these charges, which are alleged to have been committed within the context of broader crimes against humanity.
He said kidnapping was a crime in both Chile and Australia at the time of the alleged crimes and therefore met extradition requirements, unlike crimes against humanity.
The former nanny’s lawyer argued that if the proper characterization of the charges was kidnapping, the extradition was still invalid because the time limit for prosecuting such crimes had passed.
However, the court was told that Chile told the Australian government that the statute of limitations would not apply to the charges against him because they fell within the definition of crimes against humanity.
The nature of Rivas’ alleged crime is the central question of his two-day legal battle to remain in Australia.
The courtroom was filled with families and loved ones of people killed or disappeared during Pinochet’s regime.
Adriana Navarro, who represents the families, said they want to see a quick resolution to the matter after waiting for years for justice and truth.
“This has been a difficult task for the families… we haven’t been able to get much information,” he said outside court.
“We know that the Australian government is committed to sending Rivas to Chile and that is what we want, that is what the families want.”
Answers have been elusive for many; Ms. Navarro pointed out that the remains of 1,100 Chileans have still not been found after 50 years.
“We have a very good idea of what happened to them and we think Ms Rivas could have done the same,” he told AAP.
Rivas is accused of being part of the Direccion de Inteligencia Nacional brigade that physically and psychologically tortured members of the communist party who opposed the Pinochet regime.
Pinochet violently overthrew the elected socialist government in a 1973 coup and ruled the country with an iron fist until 1990; He banned political parties and exiled thousands of opponents.
During the dictator’s reign, approximately 40,000 people were killed, tortured or imprisoned for political reasons.
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