19
Mr. Caesar experienced severe anguish, stress and fear as he was exposed to
the suffering of other inmates, as well as during the moments immediately
preceding his actual flogging, due to his recent hemorrhoid surgery;
g) the carrying out of the corporal punishment in the presence of complete
strangers severely humiliated Mr. Caesar;
h) the doctor present during the corporal punishment breached his ethical code
by permitting the punishment to be executed, as he was fully aware of the
alleged victim’s health condition; and
i) the State violated Article 2 of the Convention by failing to give domestic legal
effect to the rights protected under Article 5 of the Convention;
f)
Regarding Mr. Caesar’s detention conditions
the conditions of detention to which Mr. Caesar has been subjected violate
Articles 5.1 and 5.2 of the Convention and, moreover, fail to meet the
standards required by the relevant United Nations Minumum Rules; and
k) Mr. Caesar was not given the necessary surgery until five or six years after
the pertinent medical recommendation, in breach of the relevant United
Nations Minimum Rules, a situation that worsened his condition. The date of
the hemorrhoid operation mentioned by Mr. Caesar may be incorrect, as it
may have occurred in early 1997.
j)
The Court’s assesment
52.
Article 5(1) and 5(2) of the Convention provide:
1.
Every person has the right to have his physical, mental, and moral integrity
respected.
2.
No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman, or degrading
punishment or treatment. All persons deprived of their liberty shall be treated with
respect for the inherent dignity of the human person.
53.
Article 1(1) of the American Convention stipulates:
[t]he States Parties to this Convention undertake to respect the rights and freedoms
recognized herein and to ensure to all persons subject to their jurisdiction the free and
full exercise of those rights and freedoms, without any discrimination for reasons of
race, color, sex, language, religion, political oar other opinion, national or social origin,
economic status, birth, or any other social condition.
54.
Article 2 of the American Convention provides:
[w]here the exercise of any of the rights or freedoms referred to in Article 1 is not
already ensured by legislative or other provisions, the States Parties undertake to adopt,
in accordance with their constitutional processes and the provisions of this Convention,
such legislative or other measures as may be necessary to give effect to those rights or
freedoms.
55.
In this section the Court will address the following issues under Article 5(1)
and 5(2), in relation to Articles 1(1) and 2, of the Convention:
a)
the lawfulness of the State’s imposition of the corporal punishment of
flogging under said provisions and the manner in which the judicial corporal
punishment was inflicted upon Mr. Caesar;