REPORT No. 172/10 CASE 12.561 CÉSAR ALBERTO MENDOZA ET AL. (JUVENILES SENTENCED TO LIFE TIME IMPRISONMENT) MERITS ARGENTINA nd November 2 , 2010 I. SUMMARY 1. The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (hereinafter “the Inter-American Commission,” “the Commission,” or “the IACHR”) began processing the petition in this case after receiving a series of complaints filed between April 9, 2002 and December 30, 2003, on behalf of: Guillermo Antonio Álvarez, César Alberto Mendoza, Claudio David Núñez, Lucas Matías Mendoza, Saúl Cristián Roldán Cajal and Ricardo David Videla Fernández (hereinafter “the alleged victims”). Because the complaints received were all premised on the same allegation, i.e., that an adolescent had been sentenced to life in 1 prison, the complaints were joined into a single petition classified as P-270-02. Mr. Fernando Peñaloza served as petitioner in the case of Ricardo David Videla Fernández; the petitioner for the other complainants was the Chief National Public Defender, Stella Maris Martínez. 2. The petitioners alleged that the Argentine Republic (hereinafter “the State,” “the Argentine State” or “Argentina”) incurred international responsibility for violation of the rights recognized in articles 5 (right to humane treatment), 7 (right to personal liberty), 8 (right to a fair trial), and 19 (rights of the child), in relation to articles 1(1) (obligation to respect rights) and 2 (duty to adopt domestic legal measures) of the American Convention on Human Rights (hereinafter “the American Convention,” “the Convention” or “the ACHR”). The petitioners alleged that: i) the alleged victims were sentenced to life in prison for events that occurred when they were between 16 and 17 years old, in other words, when they 2 were still children; ii) the cassation motions filed to challenge the life sentences were not the proper remedies to guarantee the right to appeal a court ruling; iii) the alleged victims did not have adequate defense counsel; iv) two of the alleged victims were subjected to torture by guards at the penal institution where they were being held; v) one of the alleged victims, Ricardo David Videla Fernández, died in the Mendoza Penitentiary under circumstances in which his death could have been prevented; and vi) the death of Ricardo David Videla Fernández has never been duely investigated. They further alleged violation of the right to education, recognized in Article 13 of the Additional Protocol to the American Convention on Human Rights in the Area of Economic, Social and Cultural Rights “Protocol of San Salvador.” 3. For its part, on several occasions the State expressed its willingness to arrive at a friendly 3 settlement. The petitioners, however, closed off any possibility of a friendly settlement. Furthermore, the State refrained from submitting any arguments to defend the merits of the life sentence given to César Alberto Mendoza, Claudio David Núñez, Lucas Matías Mendoza, Saúl Cristián Roldán Cajal and Ricardo David Videla Fernández. Nor did the State answer the allegations regarding the rights to appeal the court ruling and the right to an effective defense. The State did, however, present information related to the injuries sustained by Claudio David Núñez and Lucas Matías Mendoza, and the death of Ricardo David Videla Fernández. 1 The petition concerning Guillermo Antonio Álvarez was subsequently separated when it was found that he was not under 18 at the time of the events for which he was criminally convicted. 2 Hereinafter, the Commission will use the terms “children” and “adolescents” interchangeably when referring to the situation of the alleged victims when they were under 18 years of age. 3 The Admissibility Report on this case includes a detailed account of the efforts to arrive at a friendly settlement. See, IACHR. Report No. 26/08, Petition 270-02. Admissibility. César Alberto Mendoza et al. Argentina. March 14, 2008, paragraphs 730.