168. In Chapter VIII(1), the Court concluded that the State failed in its obligation to
guarantee the right to personal integrity of Mrs. B.A. and her family, through the adoption
of timely measures of protection, in violation of Article 5(1) of the American Convention, in
relation to Article 1(1) thereof. From the body of evidence it is clear that, as a
consequence of the situation of special danger they faced, the lack of protective measures
and the fear they felt, 277 at the end of the nine days of prayers after Mr. A.A.’s death, on
December 31, 2004, Mrs. B.A. and her sister E.A. began to “pack up the [contents] of
their three homes,” 278 that is, their own homes and the home of their father A.A., and left
the village of Cruce de la Esperanza and the Municipality of Santa Lucía Cotzumalguapa,
and “fled to Escuintla” accompanied by the Municipal Transit Police of Santa Lucía “as far
as the neighborhood between Santa Lucía and Siquinala.” In the words of Mrs. B.A., “from
there we continued our journey […] with three removals [and] three families […] fleeing in
search of our relatives.” 279
169. Once outside of Santa Lucía, Mrs. B.A., along with her children L.A. and N.A., aged
20 and 14 years of age respectively, and her mother C.A., decided to seek refuge in
Mexico. 280 Mrs. B.A.’s son, M.A., who was 18 years of age, was left in the care of D.A. For
her part, E.A. and her children J.A. and K.A., aged 12 and 7 years respectively, settled in
another part of the country, where they rented a house (supra para. 98). The parties did
not provide any evidence that E.A. and her children had returned to their home in the
village of Cruce de la Esperanza.
170. As to the State’s argument that the representatives did not tell the truth when they
stated that B.A., her mother C.A., and her children L.A. and N.A., were forced to flee to
Mexico temporarily, because there is evidence that B.A. was in the country in 2005 (supra
para. 164), the file shows that on several occasions B.A. cooperated with the
investigations opened by the Public Prosecution Service into the facts of this case, and
that she was in Guatemala, specifically, on the following dates: January 21, 2005, to file a
criminal complaint, on January 25, 2005, to be interviewed by the DICRI investigator, on
February 10, and May 11, 2005 to render statements before the prosecutors in charge of
the investigation, and on June 9, 2005, when she was handed copies of the investigation
file on Mr. A.A.’s death (supra paras. 103, 105, 112 and 123). In addition, the immigration
records provided by the State do not show departures to Mexico by the individuals
mentioned in 2004 or 2005. 281 However, the evidence shows that on February 24, 2005,
Mrs. B.A., her mother C.A. and her children, L.A. and N.A., requested refugee status from
the Interior Ministry of the Mexican Government, through the Mexican Commission for Aid
to Refugees in the State office of Chiapas, at the Protection Office in Tapachula. 282 On July
6, 2005 in Tapachula, Chiapas, B.A., her mother C.A. and her son L.A. received
documents issued by the Subdirector of Immigration of the Mexican Interior Ministry,
granting them permission to remain in that country for a period of 365 days with the
status of “non-immigrant refugee[s]”, which expired on June 20, 2006. 283 Although there
is no record of N.A., the Court recalls that at the time he was 14 years old and remained
with his mother during that time.
277
Cf.
Interview with B.A. on April 5, 2005 (File of attachments to submission brief, pages 1063 and 1064);
Statement rendered by B.A. before the Special Human Rights Prosecutor on May 11, 2005 (File of attachments to
submission brief, pages 868 to 869); Testimony of B.A. of December 12, 2010 (File of attachments to submission
brief, pages 1351, 1352 and 1368), and Statement rendered by B.A. before the Inter-American Court at the public
hearing held on February 5, 2014.
278
Cf. Statement rendered by B.A. on December 17, 2010 (File of attachments to brief submitting the case,
disk 2, minute 1:31:06); Statement of E.A. of January 1, 2005 (File of attachments to submission brief, disk 1,
minute 47:40); Statement of C.A. of January 1, 2005 (File of attachments to submission brief, disk 1, minute
24:44); Testimony of B.A. of December 12, 2010 (File of attachments to submission brief, pages 1368 and 1370),
and Statement rendered by B.A. before the Inter-American Court at the public hearing held on February 5, 2014.
279
Cf. Statement rendered by B.A. before the Inter-American Court at the public hearing held on February 5,
2014; Statement rendered by E.A. of January 1, 2005 (File of attachments to submission brief, disk 1, minute
48:05); Statement rendered by C.A. on January 1, 2005 (File of attachments to submission brief, disk 1, minutes
24:44; 48:05); Statement rendered by B.A. on December 17, 2010 (File of attachments to submission brief, disk 2,
minute 1:31:06);Statement rendered by B.A. on December 12, 2010 (File of attachments to submission brief, page
1370), and interview with B.A. of April 5, 2005 (File of attachments to submission brief, pages 1063 and 1064).
280
Cf. Statement rendered by B.A. before the Inter-American Court at the public hearing.
281
Cf. Immigration records (File of attachments to the answer brief, pages 7626 to 7932).
282
Cf. Record of application for refugee status (File of attachments to submission brief, page 1412).
283
Cf. Immigration document issued to B.A. on July 6, 2005 (File of attachments to pleadings and motions
brief, page 2112); Immigration document issued to C.A. (File of attachments to pleadings and motions brief, page
2114), and Immigration document issued to L.A. by the Subdirector of Immigration of Chiapas (File of attachments
to pleadings and motions brief, page 2108).
53
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