aggravated larceny,44 and was ordered to serve her sentence at the Centro de Orientación
Femenino, or Women´s Orientation Center, (hereinafter COF), where she died on May 25,
2004, at the age of 51.
41. When Mrs. Chinchilla was deprived of her liberty, she had two minor children from her
second marriage, Luz de María Juárez Chinchilla, born on April 11, 1987, and Luis Mariano
Juárez Chinchilla, born on October 24, 1989. She also had two daughters from her first
marriage:45 one of them, Mrs. Marta María Gantenbein Chinchilla de Aguilar, who had
established her own home, and another daughter, whose name was not known to the
Commission at the time it issued its merits report and who was not included as a presumed
victim in the pleadings and motions brief of the representatives. Mrs. Chinchilla owned two
apartments, one of which was rented. The mother of Mrs. Chinchilla bought her the items that
she needed and her two minor children were left in the care of their older sisters who, together
with the maternal grandmother, covered their expenses.46
42. While confined in the COF, Mrs. Chinchilla worked on various tasks, 47 made handicrafts
and paintings and sold coffee and tea. She was also allowed communication and visits with
her family members and her eight year-old son, named Luis Mariano Juárez Chinchilla, who
was granted permission to accompany his mother for up to four consecutive days in the
prison.48
B.
Mrs. Chinchilla’s health situation and death during her detention at the
COF
B.1.
Medical care within the COF and procedures for attending
external medical appointments
43. Mrs. Chinchilla suffered from multiple diseases and ailments for which, according to the
procedure established, she was treated by nurses and by the duty doctor at the COF 49 or,
Cf. Certification of Enforcement 429-96. Judiciary. Of. 7, Decision of the Judge of the Second Criminal
Enforcement Court of December 3, 1996 (evidence file, folios 6 and 7).
44
Cf. Incidental Motions for Early Release. Public Criminal Defense Institute. Social Work Unit. Socioeconomic
Report. April 6, 2004 (evidence file, folios 812-818).
45
Cf. Incidental Motions for Early Release. Public Criminal Defense Institute. Social Work Unit. Socioeconomic
Report. April 6, 2004 (evidence file, folios 812-818).
46
General Directorate of the Prison System of Guatemala. Work Report No. 0002, submitted to the Judge of
the Second Criminal Enforcement Court, by the Director of the Women’s Orientation Center- COF on February 3,
2003, (evidence file, folio 2693)
47
Certification issued by the Director of the Women’s Orientation Center –COF- to the President of the
Presidential Commission, Human Rights Policy Coordinator of the Executive Branch, dated September 14, 2009
(evidence file, folios 2698-2700)
48
The State sent Official Letter No. 453-2014, dated December 16, 2014, from the General Directorate of the
Prison System, attached to the Ministry of the Interior, indicating that this Department “by legal mandate, must
comply with and respect the provisions established in the current legislation, specifically in matters that affect human
beings, based on norms contained in the Constitution of the Republic of Guatemala, Human Rights Conventions and
Treaties to which the State of Guatemala is a party, the Law of the Penitentiary System and its Regulations, and both
national and international regulations that govern the protection afforded to persons deprived of their liberty. [… ]
49
Under the same parameters, this is applicable to [detained persons] and complies with the provisions of
Article 14 of the Law of the Penitentiary System; accordingly, medical clinics must serve all inmates who require such
assistance and provide medical prescriptions with the available medications; if these are not available, given the
exorbitant number of inmates currently detained in prison, they coordinate their supply with the Medical Services
17