ORDER OF THE PRESIDENT OF THE
INTER-AMERICAN COURT OF HUMAN RIGHTS
MARCH 24, 2010
REQUEST FOR PROVISIONAL MEASURES PRESENTED BY
THE INTER-AMERICAN COMMISSION ON HUMAN RIGHTS
REGARDING THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
MATTER OF JUAN ALMONTE HERRERA ET AL.
HAVING SEEN:
1.
The brief by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (hereinafter “the
Inter-American Commission” or “the Commission”) dated March 3, 2010, submitting a
request to the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (hereinafter “the Inter-American
Court” or “the Court”) for provisional measures under the terms of Article 63(2) of the
American Convention on Human Rights (hereinafter “the American Convention” or “the
Convention”) and Article 27 of the Rules of Procedure of the Court (hereinafter "the Rules
of Procedure"), requesting that the Dominican Republic (hereinafter "the State" or
“Dominican Republic") protect the life and personal safety of Juan Almonte Herrera,
Yuverky Almonte Herrera, Joel Almonte, Ana Josefa Montilla, Genaro Rincón and
Francisco de León Herrera.
2.
The alleged facts on which the request for provisional measures presented by the
Commission is based, to wit:
a)
Mr. Juan Almonte Herrera was detained without a court order on
September 28, 2009, by police officers of the Anti-Kidnapping Department of the
National Police in the context of an investigation into the kidnapping of the son of
a financial businessman. His whereabouts have been unknown since that date.
That same day, the police announced through an evening news item that "they
were after Juan Almonte Herrera, who was a fugitive," and showed five
photographs of individuals presumably linked with the kidnapping, among them
the photo of Mr. Almonte Herrera;
b)
On September 29, 2009, the National Police and the National Directorate
for Narcotics Control performed a search of a residence owned by Mr. Almonte
Herrera without a warrant and without the presence of personnel from the Office
of the Attorney General. At that time, they arrested 11 people, among them Ms.
Yuberkis [sic] Almonte Herrera, the sister of Mr. Juan Almonte Herrera.
c)
On September 30, 2009, Mr. Almonte’s attorneys applied for a writ of
habeas corpus on his behalf. The writ was granted on October 2, 2009, and the
judge magistrate of the Second Court of the Criminal Chamber of the First Lower
Court of the National District ordered Mr. Almonte Herrera released. That court
concluded that he had been arrested without the order of a judge with
jurisdiction. The order was communicated in a timely fashion to National Police