recorded on leaders of social organizations, among others, which had been collected
previously and was used for planning counterinsurgency operations, 180 as well as by the
information on Edgar Fernando García in the Historical Archive of the National Police. The
Court also underscores that, according to the testimony of Danilo Chinchilla, who was with
Mr. García on the day of his arrest, the police arrested them after searching them and
finding PGT documents and CAVISA papers (supra para. 65). The Court emphasizes that,
when analyzing this and other evidence, the criminal court hearing the domestic
proceedings established that “the objective [of the capture] was to obtain information from
Edgar Fernanda García on his activities as a student, labor unionist, and member of Patriotic
Youth for Labor and the [PGT].” 181 Therefore, this Court finds that it has been proved that
Mr. García’s forced disappearance was motivated by his participation in labor and student
associations categorized as “opposing and/or insurgent” in the context of the internal armed
conflict in Guatemala.
121. The Court also emphasizes that Mr. García’s forced disappearance very probably had
an unsettling and intimidating effect on the other members of the social organizations to
which he belonged, which was accentuated by the context of impunity surrounding the case
for many years (infra para. 154). This Court underlines that the effect of Mr. García’s
disappearance on other labor unions can be seen in the concern that was actively expressed
by the labor unions of CAVISA and other companies, and union associations or federations,
which published paid announcements in the national press denouncing what happened to
Mr. García and demanding his appearance even a year after the events. 182 Based on the
foregoing, the Court concludes that the State violated the right to freedom of association
recognized in Article 16(1) of the American Convention, in relation to the Article 1(1) of this
instrument, to the detriment of Mr. García, because his disappearance was intended to
restrict the exercise of his right to freedom of association.
122. Furthermore, in relation to the alleged violation of freedom of expression as a reason
for the disappearance, the Court notes that these two freedoms (of association and of
expression) are intrinsically related. Indeed, the European Court has recognized that the
protection of freedom of thought and expression is one of the purposes of freedom of
association. 183 Nevertheless, the Court considers that each of the rights contained in the
Convention has its own sphere, meaning, and scope. 184 In the Court’s opinion, the violation
criminal proceedings (file of annexes to the motions and arguments brief, tome I, folios 1972 to 1974 and 1979),
and video entitled “Aún guardamos la esperanza” of February 2009, supra, parts 1 and 2.
180
Cf. Peace Secretariat, supra, pp. 21 and 23, folios 33 and 35.
181
Judgment of the Eighth Crime, Drug-trafficking and Environmental Offenses Court of October 28, 2010, C01069-1997-00001 (file of annexes to the motions and arguments brief, tome IV, annex C, folio 3864).
182
Cf. Note published by the Workers’ Union of Industria Centro Americana de Vidrio S.A. (STICAVSA) on
October 18, 1984; note in which the Workers’ Union of Industria Centro Americana de Vidrio S.A. (STICAVSA)
expresses its appreciation of the “solidarity” of the Unione Italiana del Lavoro and the Confederacione Italiana
Sindicati Lavoratori, among other organizations from Sweden, France and the Federal Republic of Germany,
published on May 24, 1984; notes published by the CAVISA workers on February 18, 1985, in the newspaper “El
Gráfico,” and note published by the labor union of Embotelladora Guatemalteca, S.A. Anexos y Conexos Coca-Cola
(STEGAC) on August 10, 1984 (file of annexes to the Merits Report, tome II, annex 31, folios 475, 477, 478 and
488).
183
Cf. ECHR, Young, James and Webster v. The United Kingdom, 13 August 1981, § 57, Series A no. 44;
Sigurður A. Sigurjónsson v. Iceland, 30 June 1993, § 37, Series A no. 264; Chassagnou and Others v. France
[Grand Chamber], nos. 25088/94, 28331/95 and 28443/95, § 103, ECHR 1999-III; Refah Partisi (the Welfare
Party) and Others v. Turkey [Grand Chamber], nos. 41340/98, 41342/98, 41343/98 and 41344/98, § 88, ECHR
2003-II, and Vörður Ólafsson v. Iceland, no. 20161/06, § 46, ECHR 2010.
184
Cf. Case of Manuel Cepeda Vargas v. Colombia. Preliminary objections, Merits and reparations. Judgment
of May 26, 2010. Series C No. 213, para. 171.
43