Gunther Cuaresma Ramos was on duty at the time as the reports and assistance officer, but
that he did not prepare any documents, and that the documents were prepared on the
following day at the order of his superior, when the present events under investigation were
already known […]; this leads one to presume that he only did so for the purpose of covering
up his participation or responsibility in the present case.89
118.
In the fourth place, on this point, it is also relevant to point out by way of additional complicity,
evidence of various types of pressure or threats arising from certain statements. These include the statement
by Mr. Sierra Tueros of having been pressured and later retracting his statement, the declaration by Mr.
Donayres that he was afraid to give testimony to the Office of the People’s Defender, and the statement of Mrs.
Ponce that she had been told to testify that she had seen Walter Munárriz Escobar.
119.
By virtue of the foregoing, the Commission considers that it is a proven fact that the State authorities
denied that Walter Munárriz Escobar continued to be held in custody and that they refrained from providing
information as to his fate or whereabouts.
2.3
Conclusion on the existence of forced disappearance
120.
On the grounds of the foregoing, the Commission concludes that the State has not offered a
satisfactory explanation of what happened to Walter Munárriz Escobar, who was last seen alive when he was
at the Lircay police station, and therefore its responsibility has not been refuted. The Commission concludes
that Walter Munárriz Escobar was forcefully disappeared since, according to the analysis, the elements
comprising said serious human rights violation were present. Hence the Commission concludes that the
Peruvian State violated, and continues to violate, the right to recognition as a person before the law, and the
rights to life, humane treatment, and personal liberty, as established in Articles 3.1, 4.1, 5.1, and 7.1, 7.2, 7.3,
7.4 and 7.5 of the American Convention, to the detriment of Walter Munárriz Escobar, all of which are
considered in conjunction with the obligations established in Article 1.1 of that instrument. The Commission
further concludes that the State violated Article1.a) of the Inter-American Convention on the Forced
Disappearance of Persons90 and Articles 1 and 6 of the Inter-American Convention to Prevent and Punish
Torture.
B. Right to a fair trial and to judicial protection (Articles 8.1 and 25.1 of the American Convention),
considered in relation to the obligation to respect human rights (Article 1.1 of that instrument) and
the obligation to adopt provisions within their legal jurisdiction, Article 1.b of the Inter-American
Convention on the Forced Disappearance of Persons, and Articles 1, 6, and 8 of the Inter-American
Convention to Prevent and Punish Torture
121.
The Articles of the American Convention referred to in the heading above state as follows:
Article 8.1 Right to a Fair Trial
Every person has the right to a hearing, with due guarantees and within a reasonable time,
by a competent, independent, and impartial tribunal, previously established by law, in the
substantiation of any accusation of a criminal nature made against him or for the
determination of his rights and obligations of a civil, labor, fiscal, or any other nature.
Article 25.1. Judicial Protection
89 Annex 39. Addendum of the charges presented by the Angaraes-Lircay Joint Provincial Prosecutor’s Office to the
Angaraes Joint Court on June 22, 1999. Annex to the State’s memorandum No. 7-5-M/066 of February 9, 2006.
90 With regard to the Inter-American Convention on the Forced Disappearance of Persons, the Commission notes
that the Peruvian State deposited its instrument of ratification on February 13, 2002. Therefore, in view of the aforesaid
characteristics of the crime of forced disappearance of persons, the State is responsible for violation of the rights established
in that Convention, as of the date of ratification of that treaty and with regard to those cases of forced disappearance that still
persist in time.
24