REPORT Nº 58/05 1 PETITION 350/02 ADMISSIBILITY LEOPOLDO GARCIA LUCERO CHILE October 12, 2005 I. SUMMARY 1. On May 20, 2002 the organization Seeking Reparation for Torture Survivors ("REDRESS") (hereafter "the petitioners") presented a complaint to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (hereafter "the Commission") against the Republic of Chile (hereafter "the State") for the alleged violation of the rights to a fair trial (Article 8) and judicial protection (Article 25), together with violation of the obligations to respect rights and adopt appropriate measures (Articles 1(1) and 2) provided in the American Convention on Human Rights (hereafter "the American Convention") through failure to provide reparation and compensation for the injury suffered by Mr. Leopoldo Garcia Lucero who was allegedly captured by the Chilean authorities on September 16, 1973 and unlawfully detained in the First Police (Carabineros) Precinct and then at the National Stadium, where he was tortured. In December 1973, Mr. Garcia was transferred to the concentration camp at Ritoque and from there to Tres Alamos, and was subsequently expelled to the United Kingdom on June 12, 1975. 2. The petitioners argue that the conditions of admissibility have been fulfilled and that the rule of Article 46(1) (a) of the American Convention requiring prior exhaustion of domestic remedies is not applicable because Chilean law lacked effective remedies for providing adequate reparation to victims of torture. With respect to the time limit for submitting the petition, they argued that this should not prevent the admissibility of the petition because it related to continuing violations. The petitioners also argued that the severity of the violations, the lack of reparations and the impunity that surrounds the crime of torture in Chile, and the procedural steps taken by Mr. Garcia to obtain compensation through the only recourses available, as well as his personal circumstances as a refugee, are sufficient to consider that the petition was presented within a reasonable time. 3. In response, the Chilean State asked that the petition be declared inadmissible, pursuant to Article 47(c) of the American Convention, on the grounds that the petitioner's allegations were wholly out of order because they relate to events that occurred prior to the deposit of the instrument of ratification and that began prior to March 11, 1990. Consequently, and in keeping with the declaration of recognition of jurisdiction made by the State when it ratified the American Convention, the facts of the complaint are expressly excluded from the jurisdiction of the Commission and of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights ("Inter-American Court"). 4. After examining the positions of the parties, the Commission has concluded that it is competent to decide the complaint presented by the petitioners and that the case is admissible, in light of Article 46 of the American Convention. Consequently, the Commission has decided to notify its decision to the parties and to publish this admissibility report and include it in its Annual Report. II. PROCEEDINGS BEFORE THE COMMISSION 5. On May 20, 2002 the Commission received a petition submitted by “Seeking Reparation for Torture Survivors” ("REDRESS") against the Chilean State for the alleged violation of the rights established in Articles 5, 7, 8 and 25 of the American Convention, taken in concordance with Articles 1(1) and 2 of that instrument. The Commission assigned the petition the number 350/02 and requested additional information from the petitioners in order to establish its admissibility. 1 Commissioner José Zalaquett, a Chilean national, did not participate in the discussion or decision of the case, in accordance with Article 17(2)(a) of the Commission's Rules of Procedure. 1