45
m)
The new legislation “did not include the time Mrs. De La Cruz Flores
had been deprived of liberty owing to the anticipated proceeding under file
113-95, from March 27, 1996, to the day [the application was submitted], 7
years, 2 months and 15 days, [which] constitutes arbitrary detention.” Even if
this is considered preventive detention, it is excessive and unreasonable;
n)
Although it is true that the State has given Mrs. De La Cruz Flores back
her liberty by the decision of July 8, 2004, and the violation has ceased, it is
also true that it occurred and caused very grave consequences that must be
repaired;
o)
The judges who tried María Teresa De La Cruz Flores formed part of a
“faceless” court, established in accordance with Article 15(1) of Decree Law
No. 25,475 and, when the identity of the judge is not known, it affects the
possibility of knowing whether he is independent and impartial;
p)
Even though the second-instance judgment (which confirmed the
judgment convicting the alleged victim) was delivered by “identified judges,”
this fact does not, in itself, eradicate the violation of the right to an impartial
judge and to due process;
q)
Legislative Decree No. 926 ordered the annulment of the trials held
and the judgments issued by unidentified judges and prosecutors in case of
crimes of terrorism, and also that new trials should be held. When the
application was submitted, the new trial regime to which the alleged victim
would have had a right, within the non-extendible period of two months
indicated in the law, had not been applied to her case;
r)
The principle of presumption of innocence has been threatened from
the onset of the proceedings, given the broad investigative authority granted
to DINCOTE to prepare its report or deposition. This report became a
fundamental element in the prosecutor’s opinion and the input for the charge,
that determined the possibility of the defendant’s release and, ultimately, her
sentence;
s)
Months before her detention, two DINCOTE depositions, of September
and October 1995, already defined the alleged victim’s behavior as acts of
collaboration with terrorism, and the police had assigned jurisdiction for
prosecuting the case to a “faceless” civilian court. The prosecutor “merely
transcribed the evidence and the conclusions of the police [officers] to
request the opening of the pre-trial investigation”;
t)
The alleged victim was unable to learn what she had been charged
with beforehand, or take part in the pre-trial investigation or offer evidence or
explanations;
u)
The judicial official appointed to hear the case was committed to
opening the pre-trial investigation and ordering preventive detention as a
safety measure, without being able to consider that the probative evidence
was insufficient, and thus abstaining from opening the pre-trial investigation;
v)
The Constitutional Court’s decision of January 3, 2003, did not remedy
this situation in the instant case, owing to its “automatic association” with the
criminal proceeding and the related preventive detention;
Select target paragraph3
Connect to a paragraph
Connect to an entity
Disable highlights
Add to table of contents