A.4) Alleged violation of Articles 7, 5(1), 5(2), 4(1) and 3 of the
American Convention due to the forced disappearance
321. The Court has found that Carlos Augusto Rodríguez Vera, Irma Franco Pineda, Cristina
del Pilar Guarín Cortés, David Suspes Celis, Bernardo Beltrán Hernández, Héctor Jaime
Beltrán Fuentes, Gloria Stella Lizarazo Figueroa, Luz Mary Portela León, Lucy Amparo
Oviedo Bonilla and Gloria Anzola de Lanao were victims of forced disappearance (supra
paras. 109, 111, 225 and 305). In this regard, the Court recalls that forced disappearance
consists of multiple acts that, combined towards a sole objective, violate permanently and
simultaneously several rights protected by the Convention; accordingly, the analysis of the
violations committed must focus on the set of facts that constitute the disappearance and
not on the detention, the possible torture, the danger to life, and the absence of recognition
of juridical personality separately (supra para. 233).
322. The Court notes that the evacuation of the presumed victims alive, in the custody of
State agents, without being registered or brought before the competent authorities, entailed
a deprivation of liberty contrary to Article 7 of the American Convention that constituted the
first element of their forced disappearance. Also, owing to the very nature of forced
disappearance, the Court finds that the State placed these persons in a situation of severe
vulnerability and risk of suffering irreparable harm to their personal integrity and life. 498 In
this regard, forced disappearance violates the right to physical integrity because the mere
fact of prolonged isolation and coercive solitary confinement represents cruel and inhuman
treatment contrary to Articles 5(1) and 5(2) of the Convention. 499 The Court also finds it
reasonable to presume, based on all the evidence, that the victims underwent treatment
contrary to the inherent dignity of a human being while they were in the State’s custody,
which constituted a violation of Articles 5(1) and 5(2) of the American Convention, in
relation to Article 1(1) of this instrument.
323. Moreover, the Court has recognized that subjecting detainees to official repressive
units, State agents or individuals acting with their acquiescence or tolerance who practice
torture and murder with immunity represents, in itself, a violation of the obligation to
prevent violations of physical integrity and life, even if it is not possible to prove the
violations in this specific case. 500 Furthermore, owing to the very nature of enforced
disappearance, the victim is in a situation of increased vulnerability, which gives rise to the
risk that several rights may be violated, including the right to life. In addition, enforced
disappearance has frequently included the execution of the detainee 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, and this signifies a
violation of the right to life recognized in Article 4 of the Convention. 501 Moreover, this Court
has considered that the execution of an enforced disappearance entails the specific violation
of the right to recognition of juridical personality, because the result of the refusal to
acknowledge the deprivation of liberty or the whereabouts of the person is, together with
498
Cf. Case of Radilla Pacheco v. Mexico. Preliminary objections, merits, reparations and costs. Judgment of
November 23, 2009. Series C No. 209, para. 152, and Case of Osorio Rivera and family members. Preliminary
objections, merits, reparations and costs. Judgment of November 26, 2013. Series C No. 274, para. 168.
499
Cf. Case of Velásquez Rodríguez v. Honduras. Merits. Judgment of June 29, 1988. Series C No. 4, para. 187, and
Case of García and family members v. Guatemala. Merits, reparations and costs. Judgment of November 29, 2012.
Series C No. 258, para. 105.
500
Cf. Case of Velásquez Rodríguez v. Honduras. Merits. Judgment of June 29, 1988. Series C No. 4, para. 175, and
Case of García and family members v. Guatemala. Merits, reparations and costs. Judgment of November 29, 2012.
Series C No. 258, para. 106.
501
Cf. Case of Velásquez Rodríguez v. Honduras. Merits. Judgment of June 29, 1988. Series C No. 4, para. 157, and
Case of Osorio Rivera and family members. Preliminary objections, merits, reparations and costs. Judgment of
November 26, 2013. Series C No. 274, para. 169.
113
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