REPORT No. 11/09 PETITION 208-01 ADMISSIBILITY MARÍA NINA LUPE DEL ROSARIO ANDRADE SALMÓN BOLIVIA March 19, 2009 I. SUMMARY 1. On April 2, 2001, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (hereinafter “the InterAmerican Commission”, “the Commission”, or “the IACHR”) received a petition lodged by Coty Krsul Andrade1 (hereinafter “the petitioners”) on behalf of Mrs. Maria Nina Lupe del Rosario Andrade Salmón (hereinafter “the alleged victim” or “Mrs. Andrade”). The petition alleges that the Republic of Bolivia (hereinafter “Bolivia”, “the State” or “the Bolivian State”) violated the alleged victim’s rights under articles 5 (right to humane treatment), 8 (right to a fair trial), 21 (right to private property), 22 (right to freedom of movement and residence) and 25 (right to judicial protection), all in relation to articles 1(1) (obligation to respect and ensure rights) and 2 (domestic legal effects) of the American Convention on Human Rights (hereinafter “the American Convention” or “the Convention”). 2. The petitioners argue that Mrs. Andrade was unlawfully detained for a period of six months and seven days, during the six criminal cases being prosecuted against her. As for the cases in question, the petitioners allege that there was no evidence of Mrs. Andrade’s involvement in the crimes charged. They further contend that there has been an unreasonable delay in rendering judgments in the cases against her and that her unwarranted prosecution is the result of biased decisions on the part of the justice system, where prosecutors and examining judges have waged a campaign to smear her political ambitions. 3. The State, for its part, asks the Commission to declare the petition inadmissible. It asserted an objection claiming a failure to exhaust the remedies under domestic law, pursuant to Article 46(1)(a) of the American Convention, arguing that the domestic courts have still not delivered verdicts in the criminal cases and that the petitioner has brought constitutional, criminal, civil and administrative actions to protect her rights. It makes the point that Mrs. Andrade used the remedy of habeas corpus to secure her own release. It also argues that the delay in the criminal proceedings is attributable to the complexity of the case and to the defense put on by the alleged victim. 4. After examining the positions of the parties, the Commission concludes that it has competence to take up the petition and that the case is admissible under articles 46 and 47 of the American Convention. The Commission therefore decides to notify the parties, make public this Admissibility Report and include it in its Annual Report. II. PROCESSING WITH THE COMMISSION 5. The Commission received the original petition on April 2, 2001, and registered it as number P 208-01. Additional information on the petition was received on May 15, 2001 and November 25, 2002. On June 24, 2002, a brief was received in which Mrs. Andrade granted power of attorney to Mr. John Slater and Mr. John Lee to represent her vis-à-vis the Commission. Documents were also received signed by Mr. Edwin G. Corr and Mr. Juan Carlos de la Vía, as coadjutors.2 6. On April 4, 2003, pursuant to Article 30 of its Rules of Procedure, the Commission forwarded the petition to the Bolivian State and gave it two months in which to submit its response. The State presented its response on June 19, 2003, reporting on the cases prosecuted against Mrs. On June 24, 2002, a document signed by Mrs. Andrade was received in which she grants power of attorney to Mr. John Slatery and Mr. John Lee and the Center for International Human Rights of Northwestern University School of Law, to serve as her representatives in the proceedings with the Commission. 2 Later, on December 12 and 17, 2003 and September 30, 2004, Messrs. Daniel Strasser, Jeffrey Carmel and Robert Gelbard, respectively, presented briefs as coadjutors. 1 1