4
groups of three agents in 48 x 48 hour-shifts. Out of the three agents, two were
assigned to the physical security of Helen Mack [Chang] and one agent protected the
family residence”. However, on April 21, 2008 the Secretariat of Administrative and
Security Affairs informed Mrs. Mack Chang that it would stop providing that service, so
the National Civil Police would offer that custody service. To that end, on April 23,
2008 Mrs. Mack Chang met with officials from the Coordinating Presidential
Commission of the Executive’s Policy on Human Rights (hereinafter “COPREDEH”) and
an official from the Provincial Government Ministry, who proposed the service of
various security agents to protect Mrs. Mack Chang and her relatives. Nevertheless,
the representatives indicated that such change was announced late, and the State had
not provided them with enough information to determine the skill of the agents
proposed. The representatives also pointed out that Helen Mack “is[was] being
protected by security elements “provided” by people who had shown their concern for
Mrs. Mack’s life and physical integrity, while the residence of her family was fully
unprotected”.
8.
That regarding the protection offered to the other members of the Myrna Mack
Foundation, the representatives indicated that the Foundation was protected by the
police in a fixed post in its facilities and by a perimetral protection in its surroundings
but as from January 2008, the State unilaterally withdrew the security it was offering
to the Foundation’s headquarters. The representatives pointed out that at the meeting
with COPREDEH and the Provincial Government Ministry on April 23, 2008, COPREDH
and the Ministry were engaged to start the process to select agents, but the
representatives had not received any further information about such process.
9.
That in the briefs of June 17 and July 15, 2008, the representatives informed
the Court that on June 4, 2008 the representatives received a proposal by the State
regarding a security team formed by six agents recently graduated from the National
Civil Police Academy. The representatives added that the State established that the
candidates would be subject to an interview and their files could be revised by the
representatives, who agreed with the proposal and requested that such agents should
be trained in protecting personalities and that a psychological profile was established.
However, by the time of such communications the representatives had not received an
answer about the implementation of the new protection measures. In spite of the
above, the representatives informed that since a vehicle had been stolen from the
Foundation’s parking lot on May 27, 2008, the representatives requested the National
Civil Police Station to set up a fixed security post at the Foundation as well as
perimetral security in the residences of Mrs. Mayra Alarcón Alba, Executive Director of
the Foundation, and Helen Mack.
10.
That due to the above facts expressed by the representatives about the change
in the implementation of the security measures in favor of Helen Mack and her
relatives, as well as the members of the Foundation, in a brief of February 21, 2008
the State informed that COPREDEH had sent two briefs of an urgent nature to the
Secretary for Administrative and Security Affairs in order to provide protection once
again, according to the agreements reached between the beneficiaries and the State.
Likewise, the Provincial Government Ministry requested that the fixed security post
should be restored at the Myrna Mack Foundation headquarters. Later on, the State
expressed that the Secretariat for Administrative and Security Affairs had informed the
State that the protection provided had been modified “due to the restraints of
personnel and above all due to the lack of legal basis”; therefore, in order to continue
offering a security service to the beneficiary, the corresponding coordination would be
made so that as from March 2008 the service was provided by the Provincial