REPORT No. 24/21
CASE 13.047
MERITS
MIGUEL ÁNGEL AGUIRRE MAGAÑA
EL SALVADOR
March 23, 2021
I.
INTRODUCTION
1. On July 28, 2005, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (hereinafter "the Inter-American
Commission," "the Commission," or "the IACHR") received a petition from the Instituto de Derechos Humanos
of the Universidad Centroamericana José Simeón Cañas (hereinafter "the petitioner"). The petition alleged that
the Republic of El Salvador (hereinafter "the State of El Salvador," "the State," or "El Salvador") was
internationally responsible to the detriment of Miguel Ángel Aguirre Magaña for the alleged lack of a diligent
investigation and criminal prosecution of those responsible for an incident that took place in 1993 in which he
suffered injuries, lost a leg, and lost hearing in his right ear.
2. The Commission approved admissibility report 63/16 of December 6, 2016.1 On December 15, 2016, the
IACHR notified the parties of the report and made itself available to help them reach a friendly settlement, but
the conditions were not met for resolving the case using that process. The parties were given the time provided
for in the Rules of Procedure to submit additional comments on the merits. All the information received was
duly transferred to the parties.
II. POSITIONS OF THE PARTIES
A. Petitioner:
3. The Petitioner alleges El Salvador is internationally responsible to the detriment of Miguel Ángel Aguirre
Magaña for the alleged lack of a diligent investigation and criminal prosecution of those responsible for an
incident in which he suffered injuries, lost a leg, and lost his hearing in his right ear. It states that at the time of
the facts, Mr. Aguirre was a court official. It indicates that on November 13, 1993, he was on his way to carry
out a judicial procedure with another official and with the Justice of the Peace of Villa Apaneca, the owner of
the vehicle in which they were traveling. It notes that during the trip, a grenade exploded without warning
inside the vehicle. It states that because of the explosion, Mr. Aguirre had to have his right leg amputated above
the knee, lost all of his hearing in his right ear, and suffered multiple injuries to other parts of his body.
4. The petitioner alleges that Mr. Aguirre filed a complaint with judicial authorities requesting the Justice of
the Peace of Villa Apaneca—who had the grenade that exploded in his car—be investigated and punished. It
states that the investigation into the facts of the case violated Mr. Aguirre's rights to fair trial and judicial
protection in that: i) there were a number of irregularities during the criminal process; ii) the entire process
suffered from unjustified delays; iii) the investigation was not conducted in observance of due diligence
standards; and iv) a situation of impunity was the result of the lack of a diligent investigation.
5. Regarding the alleged irregularities during the criminal process, the petitioner indicates a false medical
report was issued to benefit the defendant. The report indicated that he suffered multiple injuries in the
explosion, when in reality he did not. The petitioner also indicates that the criminal court in charge of the
investigation failed to comply with its obligation to conduct an inquiry into the defendant, who in fact did not
participate in any investigative step. It also states that the aforementioned court denied his request for
certification of the process, violating his right to petition.
IACHR. Admissibility report 63/16. Petition 860-05. Miguel Ángel Aguirre Magaña. El Salvador. December 6, 2016. The report declared
the petition admissible with regard to articles 8 and 25 of the American Convention on Human Rights, in conjunction with the obligation
established in Article 1(1) of the Convention.
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