15
defendants. Additionally, on April 13, 2009, the State was convicted in a civil action to
reform the Penitentiary and hire more correctional officers in the term of 120 days.
Furthermore, of the thirteen proceedings, which resulted in a conviction regarding the
facts occurred at Urso Branco, only one was allegedly instituted against public agents.
29.
That regarding the monitoring system of administrative and judicial proceedings
and of police investigations through a webpage, the representatives stated that the
information published thereat is not out of date and incomplete. The listed
administrative proceedings relate to facts of 2008 and 2009 only; police investigations
refer to facts occurred between October 17, 1998 and December 4, 2007, and judicial
proceedings refer to crimes committed between October 17, 1998 and September 24,
2005.
30.
That the representatives initially pointed out that the list of people killed at the
Penitentiary submitted by the State (supra Considering clause No. 27) contains serious
inaccuracies when compared with other lists earlier provided. In this sense, they
expressed that there is no certainty as to the number of victims, their identity and the
circumstances of their death. Particularly, there are divergences regarding 26 deaths
and some of the deceased have been identified with more than one name.
31.
That the Commission expressed its concern on the existing impunity regarding
the continuous claims of torture occurred at the Prison. It stated that it expected the
State to keep on improving its judicial apparatus in order not only to investigate,
clarify and punish these facts, but also to eradicate any possibility which may allow the
repetition of the violence originated by the State agents. It further pointed out that it
did not have enough information regarding the investigation of the violence facts of
cell H4, which took place in August 2009.
32.
That the Court again states the duty of the State to investigate said facts as a
guarantee measure of the fundamental rights to life and physical integrity.
Notwithstanding the above, in the context of these provisional measures and as in
other cases8, it shall not consider the effectiveness of the investigations performed, nor
the alleged negligence on the part of the State in said investigations. Said analysis
corresponds to the exam of the merits of case No. 12,568, at present submitted to the
Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (supra Considering clause No. 13).
*
*
*
33.
That the State informed that on October 7, 2008, the Procuraduría General de la
República [State Attorney General] considered the “veracity of the arguments of
human rights violations [at] Urso Branco and submitted a request of federal takeover
against the state of Rondônia before the Supremo Tribunal Federa” (Supreme Court or
STF, according to the Portuguese acronym). In November, 2008, the State rejected
the takeover request and supplied evidentiary documents on the measures
implemented in the scope of the penitentiary system. Furthermore, the State
8
Cf. Matter of the Children deprived of liberty in FEBEM. Provisional Measures regarding Brazil. Order
of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights of July 3, 2007, Considering clause No. seventeen; Matter of
Carlos Nieto-Palma et al. Provisional Measures regarding Venezuela. Order of the Inter-American Court of
Human Rights of January 26, 2009, Considering clause No. fifteen, and Matter of Millacura-Llaipén et al.
Provisional Measures regarding Argentina. Order of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights of February 6,
2008, Considering clause No. sixteen.