They Protested Against a Woman's Brutal Rape and Murder. Now They're Facing Jail

SANTIAGO, Chile - Maria Bahamondes was locked in a holding cell in central Chile. She had been arrested for breaking into the regional prosecutor’s office, in a desperate bid for justice in her cousin’s death.

It was June 23, 2019, exactly three years since the brutal murder of Nicole Saavedra, a 23-year-old student. Bahamondes was grieving, frustrated, and desperate that no advances had been made in her cousin’s case. 

“The prosecutor owed me and my family an explanation. I wanted to meet him. He’d never even spoken to us,” she said. “I felt so tired from so much time without knowing anything, without any progress.”

The next morning, Bahamondes was taken from her cell to hear the charges against her. Wearing handcuffs, with a chain linking her hands to her feet, she learned that the authorities were placing her under investigation for causing damage to public property. She was then released, but obliged to commit to a monthly check in with the police while the investigation took place. 

Meanwhile, at that time, the man who kidnapped, tortured, raped, and killed Saavedra was still free.

“They’re criminalizing our fight for justice,” Bahamondes said. “And I’m even angrier because they are the ones that made the mistakes and they don’t want to admit it.”

Her hearing will take place this month. Along with four of her peers, she faces a potential of nearly four years days in jail for incurring damages to public property when the group forced entry into the prosecutor's building during their protest, occupying it for six hours. 

The trial has sparked a movement among national women’s rights and feminist groups called Absolución Para Las 5 (Absolution / Justice for the Five), underscored by the mantra “Demanding Justice is Not A Crime.” 

Bahamondes does not regret what she did. Her protest drew media attention to her cousin’s case and riled the authorities. In November 2019, only three months later, Saavedra’s murderer was identified and arrested. Victor Pulgar was a 40-year-old bus driver in El Melón, the town where she lived, some 30km from the small town of Quillota, where Bahomendes broke into the prosecutor’s office in protest. 

“Because of us, they re-assigned [my cousin’s] case to someone who advanced in the investigation,” says Bahamondes. “It’s a shame that families in Chile have to occupy public offices, knock on doors, apply pressure, to get the authorities to do their jobs.”

It has been ten years since Chile established a law to investigate cases of femicide - gender-related murder, a separate crime to homicide cases. A report found that 49 percent of perpetrators in the past ten years already had criminal records. Victor Pulgar was already known to the courts - he was found guilty of raping a 9-year old girl before he killed Saveedra. In the months after murdering her, he raped a 12-year old girl, who was a passenger on his bus. 

“The family had information about Pulgar and no one listened to them,” says Cecilia Ortega, a lawyer with AboFem, one of the many national feminist groups. “It’s exasperating. They [the Five] are in the hands of the very same justice system that they were denouncing.” 

Karen Vergara belongs to a local feminist group rallying for Saavedra’s case, and grew close to her family through years of protest in the region. She refers to herself as Bahamondes’s “right-hand”, and was at her side when they entered the office, alongside activists Jael Bósquez, Caterina Muñoz, and Emperatriz Silva.

“They sent police from neighboring towns to respond to us. All these resources that they never used in Saavedra’s case, they used against us,” says Vergara, who recalls three officers armed with riot gear pushing her out of the door. All five women were left heavily bruised. 

She says if they had used the same amount of police effort to look for Saavedra the week she went missing, maybe she would be alive today.

Vergara and Bahamondes believe that Saavedra was targeted because she was a lesbian. She cut her hair short and wore baggy, masculine clothes. She stood out in the religious, conservative town she lived in. 

Before she died, Saavedra was subjected to abuse because of her sexuality and appearance, and is now suffering discrimination by Chile’s largely conservative legal system, say her defenders. “She was a lesbian from a poor family,” Vergara said. “No one cared.”

Victor Pulgar still has not been formally charged for Saavedra’s murder. His trial has been delayed several times. He’s currently in jail for the two rape cases but is not in a high-security institution that typically houses violent criminals. Instead, he has a room with a private bathroom, with access to a smartphone, enjoying the support and protection of outside Evangelist groups.

“He’s like a king inside. What was the point of putting him in jail if he’s still living comfortably?” said Bahamondes. “I’m scared. He has a telephone. He could be contacting other girls.”

At a hearing on their case in January, the five women rejected the idea of pleading guilty to their charges to avoid jail time. 

“We’re going to get our sentence before Victor Pulgar,” sighed Vergara. “The system is shit.” 

The women are expecting a second hearing later this month and remain adamant they did nothing wrong. 

“We entered the building without breaking anything,” said Bahomendes after the January hearing. “We’re innocent and we cannot stop fighting now, for Nicole and all the women who are getting killed. All we’re demanding is justice.”