10
Molina, Julio Cintrón Gálvez, Julio Roberto Alpírez, Mario Ernesto Sosa Orellana, Julio
Alberto Soto Bilbao, Rolando Edeberto Barahona, Margarito Sarceño Medrano,
Simeón Cum Chutá, Alberto Gómez, Major Aguirre, Gregorio Ávila, José Víctor
Cordero Cardona and Ismael Salvatierra Arroyo. The Court requested the State to
notify the persons summoned by this Order and instructed the Secretariat that, as
soon as it received the addresses and information on how to locate the witnesses, it
should send these to the Commission, so that the latter could comply with Article 45
of the Court's Rules of Procedure.
44.
On September 1, 1998, the Court convened a public hearing to be held in
Washington D.C., United States of America, on October 15, 1998, in order to hear
the witnesses, Nery Ángel Urízar García and Otoniel de la Roca Mendoza. The Court
commissioned three of its members to take the testimony.
45.
On September 30, 1998, the Commission advised that it had notified the
summons to the witness, Otoniel de la Roca Mendoza; however, it had not been able
to summon Urízar García as it had been unable to find him and, consequently, it
reiterated the need to listen to his testimony on videotape. Moreover, it emphasized
that the State should have summoned the witnesses who were State officials and
“who did not appear in [the] public hearing [in June] and who [...] have had five
months to consider and evaluate the public evidence of the other witnesses, most of
which had been published in the press, before giving their own evidence.”
46.
On September 30, 1998, the State sent the addresses of the witnesses who
had been summoned (supra 43).
47.
On October 2, 1998, the Secretariat requested the State to provide
information, before October 30 that year, regarding notification of the Order of
August 29, 1998, and to facilitate the appearance before the Court of the witnesses
who were State officials at the time of the alleged facts. Likewise, it called on the
Commission to provide any information that it had on the witness, Gregorio Ávila,
and also about the steps taken towards locating him and complying with the
provisions of Article 45 of the Rules of Procedure of the Court. On October 8, 1998,
the Commission indicated that “it had no additional information that [would] help
locate the witness.”
48.
On October 15, 1998, a public hearing was held in Washington D.C., United
States, for which the Court commissioned the following judges:
Judge Hernán Salgado Pesantes, President
Judge Antônio A. Cançado Trindade, Vice-President; and
Judge Alirio Abreu Burelli.
There appeared before them:
For the State of Guatemala:
Guillermo Argueta Villagrán, Agent
Marta Altolaguirre Larraondo, Advisor; and
Dennis Alonzo Mazariegos, Advisor.
For the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights: