8
the requirements set in Articles 46 and 47 of the Convention must be performed in light of the situation
9
prevailing at the time it rules on the admissibility or inadmissibility of a claim.
45.
The instant complaint alleges acts of torture, mistreatment, and rape purportedly
committed by state agents against Gladys Carol Espinoza and an alleged failure of the duty to investigate
the facts and punish the guilty. The information available indicates that in April 1993, those incidents were
reported to the Attorney General, to the Special Attorney for Human Rights, and to the General Inspector
of the National Police. In addition, the judicial authorities involved in the terrorism trial that began in 2003
heard claims regarding the torture and rape reportedly suffered by the alleged victim.
46.
The Commission’s established precedents indicate that whenever a publicly actionable
offense is committed, the State has the obligation of bringing and pursuing criminal proceedings and that,
in such cases, this is the best way to clear up incidents, prosecute the guilty, and impose the applicable
punishments, in addition to enabling other applicable forms of redress. The claims of torture and other
violations of personal integrity made by the petitioners represent, under domestic law, criminal acts that
must be investigated and prosecuted on an ex officio basis by judicial authorities, and consequently such
10
proceedings are the ideal remedy in this petition.
47.
In spite of the existence of reports and medical files indicating a series of bodily injuries
while the alleged victim was being held by the National Police, the Peruvian authorities pursued no
investigations into those facts. Consequently, and for the purposes of the requirement set in Article 46.1.a
of the Convention, the IACHR concludes that the alleged victim was not afforded an effective remedy for
resolving the alleged violations of her right to humane treatment.
48.
In light of the ban on habeas corpus filings at the time of the incident, the IACHR further
believes that the alleged victim was not afforded an effective remedy for resolving the alleged violations of
Article 7 of the Convention.
49.
Based on the foregoing considerations, the IACHR concludes that the petition satisfies
the requirement set by Article 46.1.a of the American Convention.
C.
Timeliness of the petition
50.
Under the terms of Article 46.1.b of the Convention, for a petition to be admitted it must
be lodged before the established deadline of six months following the date on which the party alleging a
rights violation was notified of the final judgment at the domestic level. This rule does not apply when the
Commission finds any of the exceptions to the rule requiring the exhaustion of domestic remedies. In
such cases, the Commission must determine whether the petition was lodged within a reasonable time, in
compliance with Article 32 of its Rules of Procedure.
51.
As established in paragraph 45 above, the alleged violations of Gladys Carol Espinoza’s
physical integrity were reported to the domestic authorities on various occasions: in late April 1993, and
throughout her trial before the regular courts that began in 2003. Since the domestic agencies did not
initiate an investigation into those claims and since the petition was received in May 1993, the IACHR
believes that it was lodged within a reasonable time.
52.
Regarding the alleged illegal and arbitrary arrest of Gladys Carol Espinoza, the petition
was received a few weeks after she was taken into custody by the police on April 17, 1993.
9
IACHR, Report No. 108/10, Petition 744-98 and others, Admissibility, Orestes Auberto Urriola Gonzáles and others,
Peru, August 26, 2010, para. 54; Report No. 2/08, Petition 506-05, Inadmissibility, José Rodríguez Dañín, Bolivia, March 6, 2008,
para. 56; and Report No. 20/05, Petition 716-00, Admissibility, Rafael Correa Díaz, Peru, February 25, 2005, para. 32.
10
IACHR, Report No. 155/10, Petition 755-04 and others, Admissibility, Jaime Humberto Díaz Alva and others, Peru,
November 1, 2010, para. 83; and Report No. 99/09, Petition 12.335, Admissibility, Gustavo Giraldo Villamizar Durán, Colombia,
October 29, 2009, para. 33.