Libre, expressing “its strong disagreement” with the arrest of the aforementioned
colonel who was the Director of the National Police at the time of the facts of the
case of García and Family. Likewise, in said communiqué they stated that they
maintain “a great spirit of patriotism and [their] honor at all costs and, therefore,
they war[n] that they are prepared to fight once again if circumstances require
it”;
d) as another recent fact, the representatives also mentioned that on the day prior
to Mr. Romero Rivera being followed, “[t]he [...] assistant of the Special
Investigations Unit was pursued by two vehicles, which he managed to identify”;
e) as to the events that occurred prior to 2011, they stated that in March 2009, Mr.
Romero “was the object of threats”;
f)
Mr. Romero Rivera was protected by provisional measures ordered by the InterAmerican Court in the case of Myrna Mack Chang, in his capacity as lawyer of the
plaintiff. This case resulted in the conviction of several high-ranking military
officers, who subsequently escaped from prison. The State implemented these
measures “by providing personal security through the National Civil Police, which
assigned two officers who take turns to provide security for the lawyer Roberto
Romero” ; and
g) through the Order of November 16, 2009 the Court lifted the provisional
measures in favor of Mr. Romero Rivera. However, the State continued to provide
protection measures until July 20, 2011 when the Special Investigations Unit was
verbally informed about the lifting of the provisional measures
“and
consequently, the withdrawal of the security provided by the State of Guatemala
through the National Civil Police.” Likewise, on July 12, 2011, the President of the
Presidential Commission for the Coordination of the Executive Policy on Human
Rights (COPREDEH) sent an official letter to the Vice Minister of Support to the
Justice Sector, informing him about the lifting of the provisional measures in
favor of Mr. Romero Rivera “for the purpose of coordinating the appropriate
actions.”
3.
The arguments used by the representatives to justify their request for provisional
measures, including:
a) regarding the gravity and urgency of the situation, the representatives, in
addition to describing the alleged threats and persecution suffered (supra Having
Seen 2), indicated that in Guatemala “prosecuting military officers is difficult due
to impunity and the problems implied, such as intimidation, threats, and even
more serious ones such as death”; and
b) regarding
infer that
imminent
life would
irreparable damage, they indicated that “[f]rom the foregoing, we can
a threat exists against the lawyer Luis Roberto Romero Rivera, and an
risk to his physical safety and, if these threats were carried out, [his]
be in danger.”
4.
The request of
American Convention
measures to protect
Lawyer Luis Roberto
measures:
the representatives that the Court , based on Article 63(2) of the
and Article 27 of its Rules of Procedure, “issue [provisional]
[the] life, [and] prevent irreparable damage, [… in favor of] the
Romero Rivera”, and require the State to adopt the following
To [...] fulfill its obligation to guarantee the life and physical integrity of the Lawyer Luis
Roberto Romero Rivera, as established in the American Convention [on] Human Rights and the
Political Constitution of the Republic of Guatemala.
2