Gloria Mercedes Carvajal and the journalist’s daughters Paola Andrea Carvajal Bolaños and María Alejandra
Carvajal Bolaños. Finally, it stated that Ruth Dary Carvajal Carvajal (sister) and César Augusto Meneses
Carvajal (nephew) requested asylum on March 12, 2010, and were granted refugee status on January 18,
2011. It indicated that the Office of the Prosecutor General made a note in the case file of the threats against
Ruth Dary Carvajal Carvajal, and requested that the National Police provide security measures to the
members of the family.
199.
The State questioned the inclusion in this international proceeding of information related to
the departure of Nelson Carvajal Carvajal’s relatives from Colombia as refugees, considering that the
petitioner had not submitted the respective asylum decisions. The State was of the opinion that this
information had been submitted “for information purposes only, with no further observations being
admissible, given that the decisions [granting asylum] were not presented.”180
200.
In this case, the IACHR has found that Nelson Carvajal’s relatives have been victims of
threats and harassment subsequent to his murder, that the authorities knew of these threats, and that the
State failed to implement effective measures to protect them and also failed to conduct an investigation to
establish the facts and punish the perpetrators of those threats. The Colombian State acknowledged this
situation, confirming that Nelson Carvajal’s case was plagued by threats to the journalist relatives.181 In the
case of Judith Carvajal, although she was included in the Office of the Prosecutor General’s Protection
Program for Victims and Witnesses, as stated in the case file, that measure was not effective and she was
forced to leave the country.
201.
The Commission finds that, in this context, the information provided by the petitioner and
the evidence contained in the case file are sufficiently consistent and accurate to establish that Carvajal
Carvajal’s relatives were in fact forced to leave Colombia due to well-founded fears for their safety. The State
did not provide any evidence to demonstrate that it took actions to protect the members of this family,
prevent their displacement, or facilitate their return, and the IACHR has no evidence leading to any
conclusion other than what the petitioner has reported with respect to the matter. Indeed, the IACHR finds
that their departure from the country is one of the foreseeable consequences of the threats received, the lack
of State protection, and the impunity that has characterized this case, all attributable to the State.
202.
Accordingly, the IACHR finds in this case that Nelson Carvajal Carvajal’s relatives were
subject to de facto restrictions to their right to freedom of movement and residence, because the State’s
failure to guarantee their right to humane treatment, through an investigation and timely protection or
prevention measures, created serious insecurity and a well-founded fear in them that their lives and personal
safety were in danger of being violated if they remained in Colombia, which led to their departure from the
country.
203.
The IACHR concludes that the State violated the rights enshrined in Article 22(1) of the
Convention, in relation to Article 1(1) thereof, with respect to the relatives of Nelson Carvajal Carvajal, to wit:
Paola Andrea Carvajal Bolaños, María Alejandra Carvajal Bolaños (daughters); Luz Stella Bolaños Rodríguez
(spouse); Judith Carvajal Carvajal, Gloria Mercedes Carvajal Carvajal, Ruth Dary Carvajal Carvajal, Fernando
Augusto Carvajal Carvajal (siblings); Cristhian Camilo Motta Carvajal, César Augusto Meneses Carvajal
(nephews).
180 “The State finds that that information was provided by the petitioner for information purposes only, with no further
observations being admissible, given that the aforementioned decisions were not presented. The argument of the representatives
concerning the ‘confidentiality’ of those documents is understandable; however, and with a view to the transparency of the proceedings
before the Honorable Commission, it would be important for them to be disclosed, not only in order to present the appropriate
observations but also because in the opinion of the State it is essential that the IACHR should have access to them—without including
that information in the international proceedings—as has been done in other cases and/or petitions.” Communication from the
Colombian State dated November 18, 2013. MPC/OEA No. 1538/2013. Forwarding note 20135010027201-GDI dated November 13,
2013. Received by the IACHR on November 19, 2013.
181 Communication from the Colombian State dated July 15, 2009. DDH.GOI. No. 37793/1905. P. 29. Received by the IACHR on
July 16, 2009.