requested that the military authorities provide information on her son, they did not deny
his detention but did state that he was deprived of his liberty, indicating that they had
taken him to recognize a place and that he had fled from there (supra para. 76).
119. On July 19, 1977, three armed members of the military went to the residence of
Óscar Tassino Asteazú and waited until he arrived, threatening the persons who were
there. When he arrived, he was violently grabbed and beaten. He was taken away the
next day. There is information that he was taken to the La Tablada clandestine detention
center and that he was badly mistreated (supra paras. 88 and 96). When his wife sought
information from the State authorities, they denied that he had been detained (supra
para. 89).
120. Despite the different versions on the possible deaths of Mr. González González and
Mr. Tassino Asteazú and the fate of their remains, their deaths have not been clearly
proved. The doubts arise from affirmations of the State, which has informed that the
“material search” continues to discover their whereabouts (infra para. 134).
121. Since Mr. González González and Mr. Tassino Asteazu were deprived of their liberty
in a context of illegal detentions in clandestine centers, both detentions were manifestly
unlawful in violation of Article 7(1) of the Convention. The detentions constitute the
initial acts of a complex violation of the rights involved in a forced disappearance. They
also imply the State’s failure to comply with its obligation to maintain persons deprived
of their liberty in officially recognized detention centers and to present them without
delay before the competent judicial authorities. 148
122. The victims were placed in a situation of legal uncertainty that prevented them
from effectively exercising their rights, which, as the Court has stated, is “one of most
serious forms of non-compliance of the State’s duty to respect and guarantee human
rights.”149 Therefore, the right of both victims to juridical personality, found in Article 3
of the American Convention, was violated.
123. Mr. González González and Mr. Tassino Asteazú were under the control of military
authorities who, at the time of their forced disappearances, tortured and murdered with
impunity (supra para. 31).150 Each was last seen while under the custody of State agents.
This is, per se, a violation of the rights to personal integrity and to life, recognized in
Articles 5 and 4 of the American Convention, respectively, even if there is no evidence
infringement of the rights of Ms. Zaffaroni Rocco that occurred before April 19, 1985, the date on which
Uruguay accepted the contentious jurisdiction of the Court, have not been submitted to it (supra para 1).
148
Article XI of the IACFDP reads:
Every person deprived of liberty shall be held in an officially recognized place of detention and be
brought before a competent judicial authority without delay, in accordance with the applicable domestic
law.
The States Parties shall establish and maintain official up-to-date registries of their detainees and, in
accordance with their domestic law, shall make them available to relatives, judges, attorneys, any
other person having a legitimate interest, and other authorities.
Cf. Case of Anzualdo Castro v. Peru, para. 101 and Case of the Members of the Village of Chichupac
and neighboring communities of the Municipality of Rabinal v. Guatemala. Preliminary Objections, Merits,
Reparations and Costs. Judgment of November 30, 2016. Series C No. 328, para. 159.
149
The nature of the impunity of such violations of human rights perpetrated by State agents, when the
forced disappearances of the victims in this case occurred, was noted previously by the Court (cf. Case of
Gelman v. Uruguay. Merits and Reparations, para. 95).
150
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