47.
The IACHR considers that the facts described by the petitioners in cases 11.053 and 12.225
could tend to establish violations of the rights enshrined in Articles 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, and 25 of the American
Convention in connection with Articles 1.1 and 2 of said instruments, as well violations of what is set forth in
Articles I and III of the Inter-American Convention on Forced Disappearance of Persons, to the detriment of
Wilfredo Terrones Silva and Néstor Rojas Media. Likewise, the Commission considers that the facts could
tend to establish the violation of rights enshrined in Articles 5, 8, and 25 of the American Convention to the
detriment of the next of kin of Mr. Wilfredo Terrones Silva and Mr. Néstor Rojas Medina.
V.
PROVEN FACTS
48.
The Commission deems it relevant to recall that the jurisprudence of the Inter-American
System has indicated that the criteria for appraising evidence are less rigid than those of domestic legal
systems and has stated that it can “weigh the evidence freely.”7 In that respect, the Inter-American Court has
pointed out that it “must apply an assessment of the evidence that takes into account the gravity of attributing
international responsibility to a State and that, despite this, is able to create confidence in the truth of the
facts that have been alleged.”8 The Court has indicated that “it is legitimate to use circumstantial evidence,
indications and presumptions to found a judgment, provided that conclusions consistent with the facts can be
inferred from them.”9
49.
The Commission highlights that in cases where a possible forced disappearance is argued,
the practice of the American system has taken particular account of the nature of this violation, whose
purpose is to eliminate any material evidence of the crime and, generally, it is followed by a series of actions
and omissions of state officials seeking to cover up the fact through maneuvers that begin with the refusal of
deprivation of liberty, continue with misinformation or providing false information on the whereabouts or
fate of the victim and go to the realization of ineffective investigations and diligent little, far from establishing
the truth, perpetuate ignorance of what happened to the victim.10
50.
In the same line, the Court has indicated When specifically dealing with a case of alleged
forced disappearance, indicatory and presumptive evidence are of special importance because “this type of
violation is characterized by the attempt to eliminate any element that would allow the detention,
whereabouts, and fate of the victims to be determined.”11
51.
Below, the IACHR shall rule about the general context in which the facts of the present case
are involved, facts that have been established, and the resulting responsibility of the Peruvian State. Prior to
that review, the IACHR shall refer to the historical context in which various allegations of the parties are
involved and in which the principal stakeholders of the armed conflict that unfolded in Peru in the eighties
and nineties took actions12.
7
I/A Court H.R., Case of Velásquez Rodríguez v. Honduras. Merits. Judgment of July 29, 1988. Series C No. 4, paras. 127 and 128.
I/A Court H.R., Case of González Medina and family v. Dominican Republic. Preliminary Objections, Merits, Reparations, and
Costs. Judgment of February 27, 2012, Series C No. 240, para. 132.
8
9 I/A Court H.R., Case of González Medina and family v. Dominican Republic. Preliminary Objections, Merits, Reparations, and
Costs. Judgment of February 27, 2012. Series C No. 240, para. 134. Quoting: Case of the “Las Dos Erres” Massacre v. Guatemala.
Preliminary Objection, Merits, Reparations, and Costs. Judgment of November 24, 2009. Series C No. 21, para. 197.
10
IACHR. Report 111/09. Case 11.324. Merits. Narciso González Medina. Dominican Republic. November 10,2009, para. 56.
11 I/A Court H.R., Case of González Medina and family v. Dominican Republic. Preliminary Objections, Merits, Reparations, and
Costs. Judgment of February 27, 2012. Series C No. 240, para. 134.
12 On the relevance of context in international criminal law, the International Criminal Court has ruled that "the provision of
evidence that could help establish the overall context in which the crimes have been alleged is not only useful for understanding the
evidence supporting the charges, but also very relevant and probative with respect to the contextual elements of the crimes under
articles 7 and 8 of the Statute "Situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Case Prosecutor vs. Germain Katanga and Ngudjolo
Chui Mathiey, ICC-01 / 04-01 / 07 of 30 September 2008, para. 228, available https://www.icc-cpi.int/iccdocs/doc/doc571253.pdf.