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Article 1(1) of this instrument; (3) the rights to judicial guarantees and judicial protection
recognized in Articles 8(1) and 25(1) of the Convention, in relation to Article 1(1) of this
instrument, as well as Articles 1, 6 and 8 of the Inter-American Convention against Torture and
Article 7 of the Convention of Belém do Pará, based on the investigations into the facts of this
case, and (4) the right to personal integrity of the next of kin established in Article 5 of the
American Convention.
IX-1
RIGHTS TO PERSONAL INTEGRITY,217 DIGNITY AND PRIVACY,218 PROHIBITION OF
TORTURE AND RIGHT OF ASSEMBLY,219 IN RELATION TO THE OBLIGATION TO RESPECT
AND GUARANTEE THESE RIGHTS WITHOUT DISCRIMINATION220
150. In this chapter, the Court will examine the arguments concerning the excessive use of force,
the violations of personal integrity and privacy, including sexual abuse, as well as the prohibition
of torture and other cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment, and the prohibition of genderbased discrimination.
A. Arguments of the parties and of the Commission
151. The Commission indicated that, based on the consistent and reiterated statements made
by the women and their medical records on entry into the CEPRESO, they were victims of physical
injuries inflicted by police agents and “were threatened, in some cases, with rape, death or
disappearance.” Regarding the forms of sexual violence, it stated that the women had reported
“indecent touching on buttocks, breasts and vagina, blows and pinching on the same parts of the
body, groping, biting and pinching their nipples, tearing their underwear off violently, forced
nudity, and threats of rape.” It also indicated that the police performed several types of sexual
abuse, such as “penetration of the vagina and the anus with fingers and objects, and also forcing
them to perform oral sex,” in a context of “insults, denigrating and humiliating expressions, the
content of which reflects the special ferocity of the police agents based on the victims’ condition
as women.” It considered proved that serious acts of physical and mental violence, including
diverse forms of rape, had been executed by state agents against the eleven women, and rape in
the case of seven of them, during the detention, the transfers and the arrival at CEPRESO.
152. The Commission concluded that the different acts of physical, psychological and sexual
violence constituted torture, because the elements that constitute torture are met in this case,
namely: (i) the acts were carried out intentionally and deliberately by agents of the state; (ii) in
the case of the women who were raped, the severity of the effects is considered to be inherent;
The relevant part of Article 5 of the Convention establishes 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.”
217
Article 11(2) of the Convention establishes that: “No one may be the object of arbitrary or abusive interference with
his private life, his family, his home, or his correspondence, or of unlawful attacks on his honor or reputation.”
218
Article 15 of the Convention establishes that: “The right of peaceful assembly, without arms, is recognized. No
restrictions may be placed on the exercise of this right other than those imposed in conformity with the law and necessary in a
democratic society in the interest of national security, public safety or public order, or to protect public health or morals or the
rights or freedom of others.”
219
Article 1(1) of the Convention establishes that: “The States Parties to this Convention undertake to respect the rights
and freedoms recognized herein and to ensure to all persons subject to their jurisdiction the free and full exercise of those
rights and freedoms, without any discrimination for reasons of race, color, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion,
national or social origin, economic status, birth, or any other social condition.”
220