10.
The State reported that it published the relevant parts of the Judgment in the
Official Gazette and in the "O Globo” and “Correio Paranaense” newspapers. Likewise,
it published the Judgment on the official websites of the Secretariat for Human Rights
of the Presidency, of the Procuradoria Geral de Justiça and of the Court of Justice and
Government, the latter of the state of Parana.
11.
In this regard, both the representatives and the Commission indicated that this
measure of reparation has been fully complied with.
12.
The Court takes cognizance of the information provided by the parties, which
includes the supporting documentation of the publications in the "O Globo" newspaper
on July 23, 2010, in "Correio Paranaense" on August 10, 2010 and in the Official
Gazette published on September 27, 2010. In addition, the State furnished evidence of
the publication of the Judgment on the official websites mentioned previously. The
Court considers that the publications issued by Brazil fulfill the measure of reparation
ordered by the Court in Operative Paragraph 8 of the Judgment, and therefore declares
that the State has fully complied with this measure of reparation.
c)
Duty to investigate the facts that gave rise to the violations of
the instant case (Operative Paragraph 9 of the Judgment)
13.
The State reported on the proceedings undertaken in the domestic sphere with
a view to complying with this obligation. The Secretariat for Human Rights forwarded
the Judgment to the Procuradoria Geral de Justiça of the State of Parana, the
competent body in charge of conducting the investigation. In this regard, the Public
Prosecutor’s Office pointed out that it was not possible to initiate an investigation into
the dissemination of the telephone conversations or the handover and dissemination of
the tapes with the recorded conversations to the media, given that these events are
considered time-barred according to section 10 of Act N° 9.296/96 and section 109 of
the Brazilian Criminal Code. Consequently, any investigation into the facts of the case
is hindered by the domestic laws, which do not allow for such a proceeding if the crime
is time-barred. Likewise, the Public Prosecutor’s Office analyzed the possibility that the
facts might be characterized as crimes against humanity or as grave human rights
violations but concluded that these would not fall within such a category. In response
to the Public Prosecutor’s Office, the Secretariat for Human Rights inquired about the
possibility of conducting a civil investigation or an “investigative procedure […] even
though, in the end, it is concluded because the matters investigated are time-barred.”
However, the Public Prosecutor’s Office opposed such a procedure and noted that the
statute of limitations also applies to the civil sphere and that the criminal investigation
would not constitute an end in itself. Furthermore, the State argued that the Court’s
criteria regarding the non-applicability of statutory limitations to a criminal action
concerning grave human rights violations could not be applied. Brazil emphasized that
“the instant case concerns the violation of the right to privacy, resulting from the
'breach of telephone secrecy’ [quiebra del secreto telefónico], an action that is not
classified as a grave human right violation.” Moreover, there was no evidence to
suggest that the State’s conduct was aimed at promoting the impunity of the
transgressors.
14.
The representatives noted that more than ten years have elapsed since the
case was brought before the Inter-American System and yet the State has only
recently mentioned the statute of limitations in its report on compliance, for which
reason this argument could not be accepted. Furthermore, they stated that aside from
the violations of the victims’ right to intimacy, privacy and freedom of association, it
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