The facts of the case concern the detention, on the part of the Panamanian migratory authorities, of Ecuadorian national Jesús Vélez Loor, and his subsequent conviction to imprisonment for committing migratory crimes, without access to counsel or consulate. For years, Mr. Vélez Loor was housed in jails in which inhumane conditions of detention were recorded and in which he also suffered torture.

The IA Court established standards of protection for migrants, and determined that detention for migratory irregularities must be exceptional. Imprisonment must be accompanied by an individualized assessment and the possibility of utilizing less restrictive measures. The IA Court affirmed the special importance of the right to be assisted by legal counsel and consular assistance in judicial proceedings involving migrants, as they are found in a situation of particular vulnerability which could be aggravated if they were to be were deprived of their liberty.

The IA Court determined that the appalling conditions of detention prevailing in the prisons in which Mr Vélez Loor was deprived of liberty constituted cruel, inhumane and degrading treatment, and that the State did not initiate an investigation with due diligence into the acts of torture which affected him.