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Court Told Chile Won’t Seek Death Penalty as Rivas Mounts Final Extradition Appeal

A pending ruling could clear the way for her long-delayed return to face Chilean charges.

Overview

  • Adriana Rivas’s two-day Federal Court appeal before Justice Michael Lee wrapped up Tuesday, with a decision to come on whether Australia will extradite her to Chile.
  • Government lawyers said Chile has assured Australia she will face only seven counts of aggravated kidnapping, so she would not face the death penalty.
  • Rivas’s barrister argued Chile will treat the case as crimes against humanity to avoid time limits on kidnapping, which he said could narrow her defenses.
  • Chilean prosecutors accuse Rivas of helping kidnap, interrogate, and disappear seven people in the 1970s, including a pregnant woman, allegations she denies.
  • The timeline spans her 2007 arrest in Chile, her 2011 flight to Australia, a 2019 arrest in Sydney, and a 2024 extradition decision, as victims’ families urge a swift end to the case.