57
129. The Commission said that it had been proven that the victims, with the
exception of Erik Leonardo Chinchilla, were subjected to intentional acts that produced
pain and physical and mental suffering in order to intimidate and punish them, in
breach of the prohibition of torture. According to the Commission, when any person
suffers any injury while in State custody it is incumbent upon the State to provide a
reasonable explanation of the causes of such injury by virtue of the detainee’s
particularly vulnerable circumstances.
130. Concerning the victims who survived their kidnapping, the Commission
maintained that no effective investigation was conducted to determine responsibility
for their injuries and that Guatemala acknowledged that they were captured by
members of the Treasury Police and suffered injuries during their detention. The
Commission made specific reference to Judge Trejo-Duque’s statements before this
Court, in which he submitted that the injuries suffered by some victims who survived
their captivity could have been produced while they were resisting arrest. In this
regard, the Commission stated that
[w]hat was required was not speculation but an effective judicial inquiry to establish
whether violations had been perpetrated and lay the basis for the necessary judicial
response. The Commission pointed out that Judge Trejo had officially taken note of the
injuries suffered at the hands of State agents, including violent blows to several parts of
the body, and other forms of violence that could only imply torture. The State’s expressed
position shows a total reluctance to respond with due diligence to grave accusations. Four
of the five victims were never even examined by a professional doctor and there is no
record of any attempt to adopt elementary measures to investigate the site of the tortures
denounced or to attempt to locate possible witnesses. (Footnote references have been
omitted)
131. In the brief containing its final arguments, Guatemala indicated that in the case
of Ms. Paniagua-Morales, Mr. Gómez-Ayala, Mr. González-Rivera, Mr. CoradoBarrientos, Mr. González-López and Mr. Chinchilla it was not responsible "on the
ground that if it did not in any way participate in the persons’ kidnapping, neither was
it involved in the beatings they received." Concerning Augusto Angárita-Ramírez, the
State said that the blows he received, "while not desirable, could be normal, in some
sense, if there is any kind of confrontation during the arrest of persons connected with
narcotics traffic who obviously try to resist arrest."
The State also said that
Mr. Angárita filed an accusation in this regard and took advantage of his rights under
Guatemalan legislation.
132.
Article 5 of the American Convention establishes in this regard that
1.
Every person has the right to have his physical, mental, and moral integrity
respected.
2.
No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman, or degrading punishment
or treatment. All persons deprived of their liberty shall be treated with respect for the
inherent dignity of the human person.
[…]
6.
Punishments consisting of deprivation of liberty shall have as an essential aim the
reform and social readaptation of the prisoners.
133. Articles 1, 6 and 8 of the Inter-American Convention to prevent and punish
torture establish that:
1.
The State Parties undertake to prevent and punish torture in accordance with the
terms of this Convention.
[…]
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