Guárico River, where they were questioned, beaten on different parts of the body, and
threatened with death if they reported what had happened to them.92 In addition, a forensic
examination of Rigoberto Barrios established the existence of bruising to his shoulder and
left side, in addition to minor injuries (supra para. 73).
81.
Additionally, on June 19, 2004, the minors Jorge Antonio Barrios Ortuño and Oscar
José Barrios were again arrested and assaulted by police agents at the Barbacoas Police
Station (supra para. 74). Oscar José Barrios stated that, during this detention, the police
officers “threatened [him and Jorge Antonio Barrios Ortuño, and that one of them] told
[him] that he had to kill [him], grabbed his unloaded weapon and placed it against [his]
head.”93 The State has not presented any arguments or information about these events.
82.
This Court has held that the mere threat of a conduct prohibited by the provisions of
Article 5 of the American Convention, when this is sufficiently real and imminent, may in
itself be in conflict with the right to personal integrity. In addition, creating a threatening
situation or threatening to kill an individual may constitute, at the very least, inhuman
treatment in some circumstances.94 In the instant case, when the above-mentioned
incidents took place, two members of the Barrios family had already been deprived of life by
police agents (supra paras. 62 and 63), so that the threats against the youth’s life with
firearms, and the assault on them while they were deprived of liberty necessarily caused
them to feel intense anguish and vulnerability, which constituted a violation of personal
integrity.
83.
Furthermore, the Court observes that, on June 19, 2004, the agents not only
assaulted Jesús and Gustavo Ravelo and Luisa del Carmen Barrios, but they also threatened
them with other acts of violence and one of them fired a shot near them (supra paras. 74).
These attacks and threats represent conduct that violates the right to personal integrity and
are prohibited by Article 5 of the Convention. Also, with regard to Elbira Barrios, Jesús
Ravelo testified on two occasions, first that she had been “pushed” and, subsequently, that
she had been “insulted” by the police officials.95 Despite this, Elbira Barrios herself stated
that “they only hit Jesus and Gustavo Ravelo.”96 Consequently, the Court does not consider
it proved that Elbira Barrios was physically or verbally assaulted by police officials on that
occasion, but does have sufficient evidence to suppose that she felt afraid owing to the
gunshot fired and other acts of violence that occurred while she was detained. From the
information available, the Court concludes that the threat with a firearm and the assaults
while they were detained, necessarily caused Jesús and Gustavo Ravelo, Luisa del Carmen
and Elbira Barrios to feel anguish and vulnerability, which constitutes a violation of their
right to personal integrity.
84.
Based on the above, the Court considers that the said facts violated the right to
personal integrity recognized in Article 5(1) of the American Convention, in relation to
Article 1(1) thereof, to the detriment of Gustavo Ravelo, Jesús Ravelo, Luisa del Carmen
92
Cf. Complaint filed by Rigoberto Barrios on March 11, 2004, supra note 77, folios 4801 and 4802, and
Record of interview with Jorge Antonio Barrios Ortuño on March 11, 2004, supra note 77, folio 4804.
93
Cf. Record of interview with Oscar José Barrios on February 22, 2005, supra note 87, folio 3457.
94
Cf. Case of the “Street Children” (Villagrán Morales et al.), supra note 43, para. 165, and Case of Valle
Jaramillo et al. v. Colombia. Merits, reparations and costs. Judgment of November 27, 2008. Series C No. 192,
para. 108.
95
Record of interview with Jesús Ravelo on February 24, 2005, supra note 79, folios 3452 and 3453, and
Record of interview with Jesús Ravelo on August 10, 2004, supra note 86, folio 3470.
96
Record of interview with Elbira Barrios on February 22, 2005, supra note 80, folio 3444.
32
Select target paragraph3
Connect to a paragraph
Connect to an entity
Disable highlights
Add to table of contents