44
of his arrest; of the lack of psychological treatment for the consequences of
said treatment; of having been coerced to declare against himself; of the
lack of medical assistance; of the imprisonment in a penitentiary center for
convicts, even when he was still being processed, and of the prohibition to
speak in his mother tongue in the Criminal Center of Tela;
ii) Mr. López Álvarez was submitted to “miserable” prison conditions, which
worsened with his transfer to the National Penitentiary of Támara, and
iii) The transfer of Mr. López Álvarez to the National Penitentiary of Támara
helped to the purpose of dismantling a committee for the defense of the
human rights of the inmates and was accompanied by an inhumane and
degrading treatment in detriment of the alleged victim, who was moved
away from his next of kin and community.
b) Mr. López Álvarez was not given a treatment adequate to his condition of
defendant, and
c) the right to the mental integrity of the next of kin of Mr. Alfredo López
Álvarez has been violated as a direct consequence of his illegal and arbitrary
detention, the anguish caused by watching the consequences of the violence he
was submitted to; the separation of the family, which was aggravated by the
physical distance between the place of detention and the residence of the
members of the same; the lack of investigation and sanctions of those
responsible for the facts; the slowness and arbitrary acts within the criminal
procedure. All that generated suffering, anguish, insecurity, frustration, and
helplessness among the next of kin of the alleged victim, reason for which they
requested that the next of kin, parents, partner, children, and some siblings be
considered victims in the present case.
102.
Arguments of the State:
a)
the transfer of Mr. Alfredo López Álvarez to the National Penitentiary of
Támara, in the city of Puerto Cortés was not arbitrary; it was ordered to protect
his life and physical integrity since he was constantly in fights with other
detainees, and
b)
“the truth is that the [imprisonment] conditions of the criminal centers
of practically the entire Republic are not the best.”
Considerations of the Court
103.
Article 5 establishes, in what is relevant here, 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.
[…]
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