New hate crime laws for Chile

Chile’s President Sebastian Pinera has signed a hate crimes bill into law just a few months after the death of a young Chilean man, believed to have been the victim of a gay hate crime.

Daniel Zamudio (pictured) was brutally beaten and had Swastikas carved into his body by a suspected group of neo-Nazis.

Hundreds of people held a vigil outside the hospital where the 24-year-old had been on life support until his death. A shrine was also erected on the sidewalk.

The hate crimes bill had been languishing in the country’s legislature for seven years, the Associated Press reported.

“Without a doubt, Daniel’s death was painful but it was not in vain,” Pinera said at a press conference joined by Zamudio’s parents.

“His passing not only unified wills to finally approve this anti-discrimination law but it also helped us examine our conscience and ask ourselves: have we ever discriminated someone

“After his death we’ll think twice, thrice or four times before we fall prey to that behaviour.”

Four suspects, some with criminal records for attacks on homosexuals, have been jailed in Zamudio’s killing. Prosecutors are seeking murder charges.

Gay Liberation and Integration Movement president Rolando Jimenez told the AP the law was a giant leap toward creating tools that can prevent and punish discrimination.

“There’s still a lot to be done and we need the institutions to enforce it,” he said.