she “took a bottle of Epamin, which is the medication he took, in case [she] found him, so
that [she] could give him the pill that [she] knew he needed.” 224
184. Based on the foregoing, the Court finds that Narciso González Medina suffered cruel,
inhuman and degrading treatment when he was in the State’s custody and, consequently,
this constitutes a violation of Article 5(1) and 5(2) of the American Convention, in relation
to Article 1(1) of this instrument. In addition, it considers that the argument of the
representatives concerning the classification of this treatment as torture refers to effects
that were examined under the right to humane treatment and the prohibition of cruel,
inhuman or degrading treatment established in Article 5(2) of the Convention;
consequently, it finds it unnecessary to make an additional ruling in this regard.
185. Regarding Article 4 of the American Convention, the Court has considered that,
owing to the nature of forced disappearance, the victim is in an aggravated situation of
vulnerability, which gives rise to the risk of the violation of several rights, including the right
to life. In addition, the Court has established that forced disappearance has frequently
included the execution of those detained, in secret and without any type of trial, followed by
the concealment of the corpse in order to erase any material trace of the crime and to
ensure the impunity of those who committed it, which signifies a violation of the right to
life, recognized in Article 4 of the Convention. 225
186. With regard to the Dominican Republic’s request to exclude the alleged violation of
Article 3 of the American Convention (supra para. 85), the Court notes that, according to its
most recent case law, given the multiple and complex nature of this grave human rights
violation, in the case of Anzualdo Castro v. Peru, this Court reconsidered its previous
position and found it possible that forced disappearance can entail a specific violation of the
said right because the refusal to acknowledge the deprivation of liberty or the whereabouts
of the individual, together with all the other elements of the disappearance, results in the
“removal of the protection of the law” 226 or the violation of the personal safety and legal
certainty of the individual, and this directly prevents the recognition of juridical
personality. 227 This reasoning has been applied by the Court in its latest decisions relating to
forced disappearances. 228
187. The Court has considered that the inherent content of the right to recognition of
juridical personality is, precisely, that the individual is recognized, anywhere, as a subject of
rights and obligations, with the right to enjoy the fundamental civil rights, and this implies
the capacity to be the possessor of rights (capacity and enjoyment) and obligations. The
224
Statement made by Luz Altagracia Ramírez before the Inter-American Court during the public hearing held
in this case on June 28, 2011.
225
Cf. Case of Velásquez Rodríguez v. Honduras. Merits, supra note 18, para. 157, and Case of Gelman v.
Uruguay, supra note 150, para. 96.
226
Cf. Case of Anzualdo Castro v. Peru, supra note 150, para. 86. Similarly, cf. Caso Ibsen Cárdenas and
Ibsen Peña v. Bolivia, supra note 49, paras. 98 and 99.
227
Cf. Case of Bámaca Velásquez v. Guatemala. Merits, supra note 56, para. 180, and Case of Chitay Nech et
al. v. Guatemala, supra note 52, para. 99.
228
Cf. Case of Anzualdo Castro v. Peru, supra note 150, paras. 90 to 101; Case of Radilla Pacheco v. Mexico,
supra note 50, para. 157; Case of Chitay Nech et al. v. Guatemala, supra note 52, para. 102; Case of Ibsen
Cárdenas and Ibsen Peña v. Bolivia, supra note 49, paras. 98 to 102; Case of Gomes Lund et al. (Guerrilha do
Araguaia) v. Brazil, supra note 53, para. 122; Case of Gelman v. Uruguay, supra note 150, para. 92; Case of
Torres Millacura et al. v. Argentina, supra note 52, para. 106, and Case of Contreras et al. v. El Salvador, supra
note 51, para. 88.
61
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