from six individuals, among whom were two who were suspected of having committed
the crime. In addition, the State advised that the Public Prosecutor’s office had ordered
that the investigation be concluded urgently.
12.
The representatives reported that, although 12 years had elapsed since Mr.
Garibaldi’s murder, the authors had not yet been identified and punished. They also
emphasized that, in its report on compliance with the judgment, Brazil had “not made
any recent reference to the progress of the police inquiry, [merely] forwarding a copy
of the testimony rendered in May 2009, [as a result] of the procedures authorized by
the competent proceedings on April 20, 2009.” They also indicated that, “based on the
documents presented, almost two years have passed without the Brazilian State
reporting any progress in the police investigation” and “by failing to provide specific
information in that regard, Brazil is ignoring or disregarding the unjustified delay and
continues to violate the right to due process of law.” As a result of telephone calls
made to the Loanda Police Headquarters, the representatives were informed that the
police investigation had been sent to the Judiciary on November 16, 2010, and had
been returned to the Police Headquarters on November 20, 2010, to comply with a
request from the Public Prosecutor’s office: the inclusion of Ailton Lobato’s death
certificate in the case file. Lastly, they stated that this represents “a total disregard of
compliance with the [measure of reparation ordered by the Court] on the part of the
[State],” and asked the Court to “require the State […] to provide satisfactory
information on compliance with [this] operative paragraphs.”
13.
The Inter-American Court observes that the procedures conducted in the
investigation of the facts included taking testimony from four witnesses and one
possible guilty party, which could make a positive contribution to the progress of the
proceedings. However, the State’s failure to provide information must be noted; the
only document that has referred to this aspect is the “Detailed report of the
investigation: Sétimo Garibaldi case” of the Public Prosecutor’s office dated May 10,
2010, more than one year after the judgment had been handed down and 12 years
after the victims’ death. Furthermore, the Court observes that the State has advised
that the procedures requested by the Public Prosecutor’s office have not been
completed.
14.
The Court appreciates the effort of the representatives to seek recent
information on the investigation and present it to the Court. However, despite the
relevance of the information obtained by the representatives by telephone calls to the
Loanda Police Headquarters, this does not obviate the State’s responsibility to forward
the Court detailed up-to-date information on compliance with the judgment.
15.
Lastly, the Court recalls that more than 12 years have passed since Sétimo
Garibaldi’s death, and no substantial progress has been made towards clarifying the
facts and identifying and, as appropriate, punishing those responsible. Consequently,
Brazil must adopt the necessary measures and actions to ensure full and effective
compliance with this measure of reparation. In addition, within the time frame
indicated in the third operative paragraph of this order, it must forward complete and
detailed information on compliance with this obligation.
c) Regarding the obligation to compensate the damage and reimburse costs
and expenses