35
keeping of his whereabouts secret and in protecting him against torture or other cruel, inhumane, or
153
degrading punishment or treatment.
164.
According to the jurisprudence of the Inter-American Court, the rights to life and to
154
humane treatment are threatened when habeas corpus remedies are partially or totally suspended,
because people are left defenseless against the unchecked power of the State, which becomes abusive
and arbitrary. Consequently, constitutional and legal provisions that authorize, either explicitly or implicitly,
155
the suspension of this remedy at times of emergency are incompatible with the American Convention.
165.
The Inter-American Court has further ruled that the guarantee contained in Article 7.6 of
the Convention is not satisfied with the formal existence of judicial remedies; instead, they must also be
“effective; that is, they must meet the goal of promptly obtaining a decision on the legality of the arrest or
156
detention.”
166.
As indicated above in Section C.2, from Gladys Carol Espinoza’s arrest on April 17,
1993, to November 25 of that same year, Article 6 of Decree Law No. 25659 prohibited the filing of
habeas corpus remedies on behalf of persons charged with terrorism or treason against the fatherland. In
the cases of Cantoral Benavides and Castillo Petruzzi, the Inter-American Court ruled that this provision
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of the antiterrorist legislation enacted during the 1990s was in breach of Article 7.6 of the Convention.
167.
Based on the foregoing considerations, the IACHR finds that the Peruvian State did
violate the guarantees established in Articles 7.1, 7.2, 7.3, 7.4, 7.5, and 7.6 of the American Convention
with respect to Gladys Carol Espinoza.
2.
Right to humane treatment and to privacy (Articles 5.1, 5.2, 11.1, and 11.2 of the
Convention) and obligation to prevent and punish torture (Articles 1 and 6 of the
IACPPT)
168.
The relevant part of Article 5 of the American Convention provides:
1.
2.
Every person has the right to have his physical, mental, and moral integrity respected.
No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman, or degrading punishment or
treatment. All persons deprived of their liberty shall be treated with respect for the inherent
dignity of the human person. […]
Punishments consisting of deprivation of liberty shall have as an essential aim the reform
and social readaptation of the prisoners.
6.
169.
Article 11 of the Convention guarantees all individuals the right of respect for their honor
and recognition of their dignity; its second paragraph states that “no one may be the object of arbitrary or
abusive interference with his private life, his family, his home, or his correspondence, or of unlawful
attacks on his honor or reputation.”
170.
Articles 1 and 6 of the Inter-American Convention to Prevent and Punish Torture, which
was in force for the State at the time of the facts, establishes the following:
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I/A Court H. R., Habeas Corpus in Emergency Situations, (Arts. 27.2, 25.1, and 7.6 of the American Convention on
Human Rights), Advisory Opinion OC-8/87 of January 30, 1987, Series A No. 8, para. 35; Suárez Rosero Case, Judgment of
November 12, 1997, Series C No. 35, para. 63.
154
I/A Court H. R., Habeas Corpus in Emergency Situations, (Arts. 27.2, 25.1, and 7.6 of the American Convention on
Human Rights), Advisory Opinion OC-8/87 of January 30, 1987, Series A No. 8, para. 36.
155
I/A Court H. R., Habeas Corpus in Emergency Situations, (Arts. 27.2, 25.1, and 7.6 of the American Convention on
Human Rights), Advisory Opinion OC-8/87 of January 30, 1987, Series A No. 8, para. 43.
156
157
I/A Court H. R., Case of Vélez Loor v. Panama, Judgment of November 23, 2010, Series C No. 218, para. 129.
I/A Court H. R., Cantoral Benavides Case, Judgment of August 18, 2000, Series C No. 69, paras. 169 and 170; and
Castillo Petruzzi et al. Case, Judgment of May 30, 1999, Series C No. 52, para. 188.