78
c)
In the case of the next of kin of those executed in the massacre, the
“non-pecuniary damage” includes the suffering resulting from the death of the
loved one and the indignity of the burial that was not performed in keeping
with Mayan customs. This suffering is increased when “several individuals
from the same family are murdered at the same time”;
d)
Owing to the time that has elapsed, and also the nature and
magnitude of the damage caused, it is not possible to make full restitution.
Consequently, the Court should establish, in fairness, the payment of a sum
of money for “non-pecuniary damage” arising from the suffering, anguish and
indignity to which each of the survivors of the massacre was subjected. Also,
the State should be ordered to pay the next of kin of those extrajudicially
executed a figure that, in fairness, is decided for this concept. Regarding the
amount of the compensation, the Commission referred to the request made
by the representatives;
e)
The grief and the consequences of the situations that the survivors and
the next of kin of those executed in the massacre had to endure go beyond
the individual sphere and affect the family and the community fabric. The
psychosocial damage caused by the events included the following: a)
fragmentation of the community; b) destruction of family roles; c) loss of the
community’s cultural identity and cultural vacuum owing to the death of the
women and the elderly; d) impairment of the memory and dignity of women
as the group’s transmitters and procreators; e) changes in the community
mourning patterns; f) substitution of traditional norms and values by military
norms and authorities, and alteration of the traditional community social
fabric, and g) deterioration of the community’s relations of trust, and
f)
The damage to the community life project is aggravated by the
absence of justice, acknowledgement of the damage suffered, remembrance
of the victims, and compensation. The Guatemalan courts of justice have not
identified, prosecuted or sentenced the perpetrators and masterminds of the
massacre, and this continues to harm not only the survivors and the next of
kin of the victims but all Mayan people.
Arguments of the representatives
78.
The victims’ representatives argued that:
a)
Once the alleged human rights violations have been proved, it must be
presumed that “non-pecuniary damage” was caused, and it is the State’s
obligation to repair this. Nevertheless, in this case, the “non-pecuniary”
damage has been sufficiently proved with the testimonies and the expert
reports that form part of the body of evidence;
b)
Compensation for “non-pecuniary damage” should result in restitutio in
integrum of the damage suffered by the violation of Articles 1(1), 5(1), 5(2),
8(1), 11, 12(2), 12(3), 13(2), 13(3), 13(5), 16(1), 21(1), 21(2), 24 and 25 of
the American Convention;
c)
Those who survived the massacre show symptoms of avoidance,
hyper-watchfulness with sleep alterations, and accesses of anger towards
their family, feelings of guilt, alteration of mourning patterns, and ailments
Select target paragraph3
Connect to a paragraph
Connect to an entity
Disable highlights
Add to table of contents