381. Segundo Aniceto Norín Catrimán, Pascual Huentequeo Pichún Paillalao and Víctor Manuel Ancalaf Llaupe were subject to ancillary penalties that restricted their political rights, as established in articles 28 of the Criminal Code and 9 of the Constitution. The other five presumed victims, Juan Patricio Marileo Saravia, Florencio Jaime Marileo Saravia, José Benicio Huenchunao Mariñán, Juan Ciriaco Millacheo Licán and Patricia Roxana Troncoso Robles, were only subject to the ancillary penalties, which also restricted their political rights, established in article 28 of the Criminal Code. 382. Article 9 of the Chilean Constitution establishes, among other matters, that those responsible for terrorist offenses “shall be disqualified for 15 years from discharging public duties or holding public office, regardless of whether or not the appointment is by popular election; from being the rector or director of an educational establishment or performing teaching activities therein; from operating a social communications media outlet or being a director or manager thereof, or performing therein functions connected with the broadcast or dissemination of opinions or information; and from being the leader of a political organization, an organization associated with education, or a neighborhood, professional, business, labor, student, or trade association, during that time.” It added that this “is understood […] without prejudice to other disqualifications or those that last longer according to the law.” In this regard, article 28 of the Criminal Code establishes the penalties of “absolute and permanent disqualification from public office or functions and political rights, as well as absolute disqualification from titled professions for the duration of the sentence.” 383. To the extent that the effective exercise of political rights constitutes an end in itself and, also, a fundamental means that democratic societies have to ensure the other human rights established in the Convention,369 the Court considers that, in the circumstances of this case, the imposition of the said ancillary penalties, which affected the right to vote, direct participation in public affairs, and access to public office, of an absolute and perpetual nature or for a fixed but prolonged term (15 years), is contrary to the principle of the proportionality of the punishment (supra, para. 374) and constituted a very serious impairment of the political rights of Segundo Aniceto Norín Catrimán, Pascual Huetequeo Pichún Paillalao, Víctor Manuel Ancalaf Llaupe, Juan Patricio Marileo Saravia, Florencio Jaime Marileo Saravia, José Benicio Huenchunao Mariñán, Juan Ciriaco Millacheo Licán and Patricia Roxana Troncoso Robles. 384. The foregoing is particularly serious in the case of Messrs. Ancalaf Llaupe, Norín Catrimán and Pichún Paillalao, due to their status as traditional leaders of their communities (supra para. 78). Thus, the imposition of the said penalties also had an impact on the representation of the interests of their communities in relation to other communities, as well as in relation to the rest of Chilean society. Specifically, the Court underlines that, owing to these penalties, they were prevented from taking part in or guiding public activities in State entities that seek to promote, coordinate and execute actions to develop and protect the indigenous communities they represented, which constituted a concrete violation of the rights protected by Article 23 of the Convention. These conclusions, which the Court derives from the nature of the penalties imposed, are confirmed, inter alia, by the testimony of Mr. Ancalaf Llaupe,370 Ms. Troncoso Robles371 and Juan Pichú,372 the son of Pascual Pichún Paillalao. 369 108. Cf. Case of Castañeda Gutman v. United Mexican States, para. 143, and Case of López Mendoza v. Venezuela, para. 370 Mr. Ancalaf Llaupe stated that he “was subject […] to a life-long prohibition to exercise public office [or] the civil right of presiding any department in a company or […] taking office in a municipality or any other State entity.” Cf. Statement made by presumed victim Víctor Manuel Ancalaf Llaupe before the Inter-American Court during the public hearing held on May 29 and 30, 2013. 371 Ms. Troncoso Robles indicated that, owing to the judgment convicting her, she was “forever disqualified from public office [and] from political rights.” Cf. Written statement made on May 27, 2013, by presumed victim Patricia Roxana Troncoso Robles (file of statements of presumed victims, witnesses and expert witnesses, folio 657). 129