137
385. As has been established, the conditions in which some family members and
witnesses found the corpses reveals not only the atrocity and barbarity of the acts,
but also that, in the least cruel of the situations, the victims were subjected to grave
psychological torture by witnessing the execution of other individuals and
anticipating their own fate, when they were subjected to the context of terror that
occurred in La Granja on June 11, 1996, and in El Aro from October 22 to November
12, 1997. Also, the victims suffered damage as a result of the executions, the forced
labor, the arbitrary detention, the loss of their homes, livestock and other
possessions, the lack of support from the State authorities, and the fear of finding
themselves defenseless. The absence of a complete and effective investigation into
the facts and the partial impunity constitute an additional source of suffering and
anguish for the victims and their next of kin. All the foregoing, in addition to
affecting their mental integrity, has had an impact on their social and labor relations,
altered the dynamics of their families and the social network of the community.
386. With regard to the next of kin of the persons disappeared and deprived of life,
the Court has presumed that the suffering or death of a person entails non-pecuniary
damage for his children, spouse, companion, mother, father and siblings, so it is not
necessary to prove this.273
387. International case law has established repeatedly that the judgment
constitutes per se a form of reparation.274 However, owing to the gravity of the facts
in the instant case and the situation of partial impunity, the intensity of the suffering
caused to the victims, the alterations in their living conditions, and the other
consequences of a non-pecuniary nature, the Court considers it necessary to order
the payment of compensation for non-pecuniary damage, based on the principle of
equity.275
388. When assessing the non-pecuniary damage cause in the case sub judice, the
Court has borne in mind that the witnesses declared in their sworn statements made
before notary public or in their statements before the Court that the damage caused
to them is representative of the damage caused to the rest of the victims, most of
whom lived in or near Ituango.276
389. Once again, the Court takes into account that, in the conciliation agreements
reached in the administrative jurisdiction, compensation was established for nonpecuniary damage in favor of some of the next of kin of the victims executed and
some of those who suffered loss of their property (supra para. 125(101)). Since this
compensation was determined only in favor of the next of kin of these victims and it
does not appear from the content of these agreements that the damage suffered
273
Cf. Case of the Pueblo Bello Massacre, supra note 9, para. 257; Case of the 19 Tradesmen, supra
note 222, para. 229; and Maritza Urrutia case. Judgment of November 27, 2003. Series C No. 103, para.
169.
274
Cf. Case of Baldeón García, supra note 5, para. 189; Case of the Sawhoyamaxa Indigenous
Community, supra note 9, para. 220; and Case of Acevedo Jaramillo et al., supra note 12, para. 309.
275
Cf. Case of Baldeón García, supra note 5, para. 189; Case of the Sawhoyamaxa Indigenous
Community, supra note 9, para. 220; and López Álvarez case, supra note 232, para. 200.
276
Cf. Case of the “Mapiripán Massacre”, supra note 8, para. 286.
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