55
rights of the individual because they are, among other matters, unreasonable,
unforeseeable or out of proportion.104
79.
Pursuant to Article 84 of the Political Constitution of Honduras, in force since
January 20, 1982, “[n]o one may be arrested or detained without a written order by
a competent authority, issued in accordance with legal formalities and for a reason
previously set forth in the Law” or for having been caught in fraganti “with the
exclusive effect of bringing him before the authority.” Furthermore, “[t]he person
arrested or detained must be clearly informed, in the act, of his rights and of the
charges against him.” Article 99 of the Constitution, in turn, provides that official
entry and search of homes “may not take place between six p.m. and six a.m.
without incurring responsibility.”105 It is obvious that the two detentions of Juan
Humberto Sánchez fit the provisions of the Convention: first, they were conducted
by military agents, and not by the police (supra 70.5 and 70.7); the alleged victim
was not caught in fraganti, but rather was detained at the house of his parents at
nighttime, which in turn was contrary to domestic provisions regarding official entry
and search; Juan Humberto Sánchez was not immediately brought before a judge
(supra 70.5, 70.7 and 70.8); neither he nor his next of kin present were informed of
the facts for which he was considered responsible for a given crime (supra 70.5 and
70.7). In light of the above, the detentions of Juan Humberto Sánchez constitute a
violation of Article 7(2) of the American Convention.
80.
With respect to Article 7(3) of the Convention, this Court notes that the
detentions of Juan Humberto Sánchez come within the framework of abuse of power,
the objective of which was to interrogate, torture, and possibly kill the alleged victim
with impunity, a situation that fits into the pattern of human rights violations
committed by agents of the State at the time of the facts of the case (supra 70.1).
Because the detention and retention were arbitrary, Article 7(3) of the Convention
was breached to the detriment of Juan Humberto Sánchez.
81.
Subparagraphs 4, 5 and 6 of Article 7 of the American Convention establish
positive obligations that impose specific or special requirements both on the agents
of the State and on third parties acting with their tolerance or consent and who are
responsible for a detention.
82.
Article 7(4) of the American Convention is a mechanism to avoid illegal or
arbitrary detentions, from the very moment when a person is deprived of his or her
liberty. It also ensures the right to defense of the detainee. In this same vein,
Article 84 of the Honduran Constitution in force establishes that “[t]he person
arrested or detained must be clearly informed, in the act, of his rights and of the
facts he is accused of.” It has been proven that in the first detention, Juan
Humberto Sánchez was not informed of the criminal behavior that he was accused
of, but rather that on the following day his stepfather was informed by the Mayor of
Colomoncagua of the reasons for his detention (supra 70.5). The second detention of
Juan Humberto Sánchez was carried out by agents of the State without a court
order, during the night, following the pattern that has been shown in this case
104
Cf. Bámaca Velásquez Case, supra note 25, para. 139; Durand and Ugarte Case. Judgment of
August 16, 2000. Series C No. 68, para. 85; “Street Children” Case (Villagrán Morales et al.), supra note
25, para. 131; Suárez Rosero Case. Judgment of November 12, 1997. Series C No. 35, para. 43; and
Gangaram Panday Case. Judgment of January 21, 1994. Series C No. 16, para. 47.
105
Preliminary statement by Ángel Belisario Hernández González on January 17, 2003, in a file at the
Secretariat of the Court entitled “Transcripción de audiencia pública. Excepciones/Fondo/Reparaciones,” p.
28; Angel Belisario stated that they could not make arrests at night and he pointed out that they were not
authorized to enter the house.
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