87
personal consumption and for sale “was damaged, presumably by soldiers as a
form of intimidation owing to the report of the incident.” The “harm caused
allegedly by soldiers to the parcel of land ruined the entire harvest of said year.”
The representatives provided details of the plot and estimated the value of its
annual production as approximately US$5,500.00 (five thousand five hundred
dollars of the United States of America). Accordingly, they asked the Court to
establish, in equity, the appropriate sum to repair the damage caused.
284. The Court notes that the alleged loss of the harvest refers to facts that have
not been examined in this Judgment, but rather to facts being examined in the
procedure on provisional measures in the present case (supra paras. 212 and 213).
In effect, this pertains to facts not yet proven in the present contentious case, and
those of which the representatives refer to in a speculative manner, therefore it is
not appropriate to grant a measure of reparation in this regard.
285. On the other hand, the representatives also stated that, as a direct result of
the rape, owing to the stigmatization and discrimination suffered in her community
and owing to the well-founded fear of suffering another attack from the soldiers,
Mrs. Fernández Ortega isolated herself from her community and avoided leaving
her home, “only doing so to advance her search for justice in her case.”
Consequently, the victim ceased her activity of growing and selling agricultural
products for approximately one year. Since the annual value of her harvests was
alleged to be approximately US$5,468.00 (five thousand four hundred and sixtyeight dollars of the United States of America) and that, there is no possibility of
providing the Court with vouchers authenticating this sum, they asked the Court to
establish, in equity, an amount to cover the loss of income.
286. The Court observes that the representatives did not present any
documentation to authenticate the income earned by Mrs. Fernández Ortega.
However, Given that both Mrs. Fernández Ortega and her husband work cultivating
their land and both of them neglected their tasks owing to the facts of the case,265
the Court decides to establish, in equity, the sum of US$5,500.00 (five thousand
five hundred dollars of the United States of America) or its equivalent in Mexican
pesos, for Mrs. Fernández Ortega’s and Mr. Prisciliano Sierra’s loss of earnings.
Each spouse should receive half this amount.
287. On the other hand, the representatives indicated that Mr. Prisciliano Sierra,
also ceased to work the land and, consequently, to receive an income during some
periods in order to accompany his wife in her search for justice, as well as owing to
fears of new acts of violence by the Army. Consequently, they asked the Court to
establish, in equity, an amount for harm to the family assets.
288. The Court observes that the representatives did not submit documentation
or any type of calculation to support neither the alleged harm to the family assets
nor the earnings that Mr. Prisciliano Sierra failed to perceive; in addition, they did
not specify the time during which he supposedly ceased to work the land.
265
Mrs. Fernández Ortega stated that in her search for justice, her and her husband “[n]eglected
to properly care for the plot of land and the animals,” and that she no longer “went to work in the field
because of fear of the […] soldiers, and because of shame aswell,” adding that her husband also did not
“go to work, and they did not plant or take care of [their] animals,” sworn statement of Mrs. Fernández
Ortega before a public notary, supra note 62, folios 1486 and 1488. On his behalf, Mr. Prisciliano Sierra
noted that “after the rape [his wife] stopped working on the plot of land for about one year” and that he
“neglect[ed] the land and the animals,”, sworn statement of Mr. Prisciliano Sierra before a public notary,
supra note 66, folio 968. Lastly, the expert Correa González stated that “[t]he time and effort expended
before the various governmental, state, and international institutions has cost [Mrs. Fernandez Ortega]
and her husband economically, because they had to abandon their daily activities to dedicate themselves
to the processing of the complaint,” psycho-social expert opinion by Mrs. Correa González, supra note
113, folio 1623.
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