30
as a result of the trauma experienced, she began to show dissociative symptoms (loss of
awareness) that are typical of histrionic personalities; in her case, however, they cannot be
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considered pathological, since they were triggered by the acts of torture and rape.
139.
The IACHR notes that the Peruvian State offered no specific comments on the expert
testimony offered by Dr. Carmen Wurst de Landázuri.
140.
From its analysis of the evidence indicated above, the IACHR takes it as established that
Gladys Carol Espinoza was subject to deliberate acts of violence while in the custody of agents of the
DIVISE and the DINCOTE. Those acts included humiliation, threats, beatings, submersion in tanks of
water mixed with excrement, being strung up, groping, anal penetration with a wooden object, vaginal
penetration with her assailants’ hands, and forced fellatio. Those actions caused Gladys Carol Espinoza
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intense suffering, with multiple scars to her thorax and parietal region, contracted muscles, headaches,
126
losses of consciousness, vertigo, balance disorders, and suffocating.
She also experienced mental
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aftereffects such as disassociation, anxiety, and aversion to noise,
symptoms of depression, and
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irritability.
141.
In light of the context in which the facts took place, the IACHR concludes that the intent of
the agents of the National Police of Peru was to humiliate the victim and, by reducing her physical and
mental resistance, to obtain information on her alleged involvement in illicit activities. In addition, the
IACHR takes it as established that the medical certificates and psychological reports issued between April
and May 1993 and the National Police reports describing Gladys Carol Espinoza’s arrest sought to
evade, or in any event served to evade, the responsibility of the DIVISE and DINCOTE agents who
carried out the aforesaid acts of violence.
5.
The detention conditions and acts of violence faced by Gladys Carol Espinoza
during her incarceration at Yanamayo Prison
142.
The petitioners allege that after being held for several weeks at the DINCOTE, Gladys
Carol Espinoza was transferred to Chorrillos Women’s Maximum Security Prison on June 24, 1993, and
on January 17, 1996, she was admitted to the Yanamayo Maximum Security Closed Regime Penitentiary
Establishment (hereinafter “Yanamayo Prison” or “Yanamayo”), where she remained until April 17, 2001.
They contend that at that facility, the victim endured inhuman detention conditions and received no
appropriate medical treatment for the symptoms she had developed since May 1993. They add that
during an inspection on August 5, 1999, the victim and another four inmates were beaten and mistreated
by security officers, after which they were provided with no kind of medical attention.
143.
The State offers no specific claims regarding Gladys Carol Espinoza’s detention
conditions at Yanamayo. Regarding the acts of violence and the victim’s health conditions described by
the petitioners, Peru submitted two medical reports dated August 24 and December 17, 1999, which
indicated that the subject was “in a good general state of health.” The second report certifies that Gladys
Carol Espinoza “has been suffering from vertigo since 1996” and states that she suffers from constant
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Annex 17: Psychological report by Dr. Carmen Wurst Calle de Landázuri of October 8, 2008, based on interviews with
Gladys Carol Espinoza at Chorrillos Women’s Maximum Security Prison, p. 9;
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Annex 20: Medical Examiner’s Certificate No. 009598-V, issued by the Legal Medicine Institute after examining Gladys
Carol Espinoza on January 27 and February 9, 2004, Conclusions.
126
Annex 17: Psychological report by Dr. Carmen Wurst Calle de Landázuri of October 8, 2008, based on interviews with
Gladys Carol Espinoza at Chorrillos Women’s Maximum Security Prison, pp. 5 and 6.
127
Annex 20: Medical Examiner’s Certificate No. 009598-V, issued by the Legal Medicine Institute after examining Gladys
Carol Espinoza on January 27 and February 9, 2004, Section I, Physical Examination, 1. Anamnesis, D. Symptoms Described,
stating that the subject “reports anxiety and insomnia, largely related to the legal proceedings she lately has had to face. Aversion to
noise.”
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Annex 17: Psychological report by Dr. Carmen Wurst Calle de Landázuri of October 8, 2008, based on interviews with
Gladys Carol Espinoza at Chorrillos Women’s Maximum Security Prison, pp. 7 and 9.