9
44.
Furthermore, neither the American Convention nor the Rules of Procedure of the IACHR
require that the petition identify the specific rights allegedly violated by the State in a matter submitted
to the Commission, though the petitioners may do so. It is up to the Commission, based on the case-law
of the system, to determine in its admissibility reports which provision of the relevant inter-American
instruments is applicable or could be established as having been violated, if the facts alleged are
sufficiently proven.
45.
In this case, the petitioners claim a violation of the right to life of Herminio Deras García,
a trade unionist and member of the Communist Party of Honduras, allegedly committed by agents of the
state. The petitioners also allege a lack of due diligence in the investigation and punishment of the facts
It also claims that several members of his family were illegally detained,10 abducted, and tortured by state
agents and that their homes were raided without a court order. The alleged acts of violence described in
the petition include assaults on children.
46.
The petition also says that the extrajudicial execution of Herminio Deras and the
persecution of his family stemmed from his membership of the Communist Party and his activities as a
trade unionist. With respect to access to information, they claim that they had difficulties in obtaining a
copy of the judicial record and that when they did get a copy it was incomplete.
47.
The Commission finds that, if true, the facts described by the petitioners concerning the
alleged extrajudicial execution of Herminio Deras and the persecution owing to his membership of a
political party or trade union could characterize a violation of rights recognized in Articles 4, 13, and 16 of
the American Convention, in connection with Article 1(1) of said instrument. It also considers that they
could characterize a violation of rights recognized in Articles 5, 7, 8, and 25 of the American Convention,
in connection with Article 1(1) of said instrument, to the detriment of the relatives of Herminio Deras
García.
48.
In addition, the Commission considers that the facts described in the petition concerning
alleged trespass difficulties in obtaining access to the information contained in the record of the domestic
judicial proceeding, the disintegration of the family, and impairment of the right to freedom of movement
and residence could amount to violations of rights contained in Articles 11, 13, 17, 22, and 19 of the
American Convention, taken in conjunction with Article 1(1) of that instrument, to the detriment of the
relatives of Herminio Deras García.11 Likewise, the Commission will examine the alleged facts in the light
of Article 19 of the American Convention, interpreted in accordance with the corpus juris on the rights of
children, with respect to the alleged victims who were children at the time of the alleged violations.
10
The petitioners have included the following members of the Deras García family as alleged victims of acts of
repression reportedly committed by the authorities; Maria Eustaquia García Alvarado, Domingo Deras, Otilia Flores, Elba Flores,
Lorena Deras Flores, Herminio Deras Flores, Alba Luz Deras García, Irma Isabel Deras García, Consuelo Deras García, Luis Rolando
Deras García, Héctor García, Sandra Ivon Hernández Deras, Marlen García, Cristóbal Hernández, José Herminio García Barahona,
Julio César Chavarría Banegas, and Héctor Deras.
11 The alleged victims’ family members are included pursuant to the provisions contained in Article 35(1) of the Rules
of Procedure of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights and its case-law. See I/A Court H.R. Case of Radilla Pacheco v. Mexico.
Judgment of November 23, 2009, and I/A Court H.R., Order of the Court of January 19, 2009, Case of González et al. (“Cotton
Field”) v. Mexico. Request to include other alleged victims and refusal to forward written evidence.