41. The brothers José Delfín and Ángel Acosta Martínez, of Uruguayan nationality and of African descent, immigrated to Argentina in 1982.35 In Argentina, they founded the Grupo Cultural Afro, dedicated to the dissemination of Afro culture and the fight against racial discrimination.36 According to the version presented by the Commission and the representatives and accepted by the State, it was because of this activism that José Delfín Acosta Martínez decided to intervene when the police were detaining two young AfroBrazilians outside a nightclub on April 5, 1996. 42. In the early morning hours of April 5, 1996, José Delfín Acosta Martínez was in the vicinity of the Maluco Beleza nightclub, in the center of the city of Buenos Aires. He began a conversation on the street with a Brazilian of African descent named Wagner Gonçalves Da Luz.37 Mr. Acosta Martínez acted and spoke coherently,38 although some witnesses said he was drunk.39 At that moment, two patrol cars of the Argentine Federal Police arrived at the scene, and several police officers got out and questioned Wagner Gonçalves Da Luz.40 The police officers said that they had received an anonymous complaint that an armed person was there causing a disturbance.41 They proceeded to put Wagner Gonçalves Da Luz up against the patrol car and detain him. In response, Marcelo Gonçalves Da Luz, Wagner's Corroborated by the statement made before a notary public by Blanca Rosa Martínez on February 28, 2020 (evidence file, folio 1458) and by the statement given at the public hearing by Ángel Acosta Martínez. 35 Acosta Martínez brothers’ work as activists for the rights of Afro-descendant populations and on cultural promotion was mentioned by several witnesses in their statements to this Court. Cf. Statement made before a notary public by Néstor Diego Martínez Gutiérrez on February 20, 2020 (evidence file, folios 1446-1447) and statement made before a notary public by Lucía Dominga Molina on February 28, 2020 (evidence file, folio 1454). 36 Cf. Statement made before a notary public by Verónica Andrea Brotzman on February 28, 2020 (evidence file, folio 1455). 37 Cf. Statement of B.M.G. before the Investigating Judge of April 24, 1996, who attested regarding Acosta Martínez’s attitude prior to his arrest that he found him "normal and cheerful" and that he did not notice him under the influence of alcohol (evidence file, folio 98). Statement given on April 24, 1996, by V.B. before the Investigating Judge, indicating that they saw Acosta Martínez in a "normal" state and that he "moved easily and, for example, when he passed by a window and they made a gesture to the witness, he continued on his way without remaining as maybe a sluggish drunk person would have” (evidence file, folio 105). In his statement at the public hearing before the Inter-American Court, witness Alberto Fresco, explained that “he behaved like a normal person, when he came out in defense of my friends […] he spoke correctly, he spoke correctly, a person who not only knew what he was saying, but was grounded in time and space, down to the detail that when he passed us at the bar and smiled, he did not seem like someone who was in a bad state.” 38 Cf. Statement of R.B. before the Investigating Judge of April 8, 1996 (evidence file, folio 40). In his first statement to the chief of the police station, A.M. stated that Mr. Acosta Martínez appeared “on drugs and aggressive” (evidence file, folio 46). However, in the statement given before the Investigating Judge on April 8, 1996, A.M. indicated “as to the fact that in his previous statement, he states that he had seen the deceased being aggressive, that was not the case. He did notice that he looked drunk” (evidence file, folio 50). F.A.I., the nightclub doorman, who testified before the Examining Magistrate on April 9, 1996, that “the person was drunk, indicating that when he staggered, did not coordinate his movements well, and as an example, he recalls that while he was standing still with a glass of whiskey drinking at the door of the establishment, the glass kept tipping and spilling its contents” (evidence file, folio 64). In his testimony before the Investigating Judge, Wagner Gonçalvez stated with respect to Acosta Martínez “that he was clearly drunk, based on how he spoke, that is, his diction was not clear and he staggered, although what he said was understandable.” (evidence file, folio 74). According to the statement of the officer identified as C.O.C., given on April 5, 1996 before the chief of the police station, Acosta Martínez “was under the influence of alcohol or some other drugrelated substance {sic} based on abnormal and aggressive conduct that had been evident from the moment the witness made contact with him” (evidence file, folio 130). 39 40 Cf. Statement given by V.B. to the Investigating Judge on April 24, 1996 (evidence file, folio 102). Cf. Statements given by D.A.O. to the chief of police station on April 5, 1996 (evidence file, folio 86) and by officer M.H.L. on April 5, 1996 (evidence file, folio 557). 41 14