2 provisional measures to prevent irreparable damage to the right to life and humane treatment of Dencen Andino Alvarado. 6. The alleged facts upon which the request for provisional measures is based, namely: a. b. c. d. Mr. Dencen Andino Alvarado is “one of the most important witnesses in the investigation proceedings being conducted in Honduras for the murder of Jeannette Kawas, given that he was able to see the faces of the two men who perpetrated the crime as they were running away from the crime scene.” On February 9, 1995, Mr. Dencen Andino Alvarado testified before the Juzgado de Paz de lo Criminal (Criminal Magistrates’ Court) in and for Tela regarding the facts of the instant case, and on August 29, 2003 he rendered additional testimony. Mr. Dencen Andino Alvarado “has been subjected to coercion and intimidation by [a police officer] –suspected of involvement in the murder of Kawas- who attempted to coerce him not to testify in the domestic investigation proceedings. As a result, the witness fears for his life and during the proceedings he requested the prosecutor’s office to provide protection”. On November 27, 2008, Mr. Dencen Andino “received another death threat from [said police officer].” 7. The legal arguments put forward by the representatives to support the request for provisional measures, in which they stated that the facts described are of extreme gravity and urgency insofar as “it is clear that, given the renewed interest in the case in Honduras as a result of the proceeding pending before this [...] Court, the life of witness Dencen Andino Alvarado is in great danger; and if the threat [against him] is carried out, the witness will suffer irreparable damage. Moreover, the impunity of those responsible for the death of Kawas will be guaranteed inasmuch as Mr. Andino Alvarado is a key witness in the investigations.” Considering: 1. That Honduras has been a State Party to the American Convention since September 8, 1977 and that it accepted the jurisdiction of the Court on September 9, 1981. 2. That Article 63(2) of the American Convention provides that in cases of “extreme gravity and urgency, and when necessary to avoid irreparable damage to persons,” the Court may adopt such provisional measures as it deems pertinent in matters it has under consideration. 3. That, as set forth in Article 25 of the Court’s Rules of Procedure (hereinafter “the Rules of Procedure”): 1. At any stage of the proceedings involving cases of extreme gravity and urgency, and when necessary to avoid irreparable damage to persons, the Court may, at the request of a party or on its own motion, order such provisional measures as it deems pertinent, pursuant to Article 63(2) of the Convention. [...]