34
o
24 separate weapons were identified, consistent with at least 24 individual shooters. At
least 11 persons fired their weapons within the building and at least 13 fired their
186
weapons outside the building.
There is no evidence to support the contention that these victims, almost all young
children, were involved in combat or were caught in the crossfire of combat forces.
Rather the evidence strongly supports the conclusion that they were the intentional
187
victims of a mass extra-judicial execution.
o
179.
On January 6, 1993 the judge of the Second Court appointed the forensic anthropologists
188
Charles Lee Cecil and Roger Ediar as technical advisers . On January 6, 7, 8, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 18
189
and 19, 1993, exhumation work continued at site 2, “La Tumba” . On January 20, 21, 22, 25, 26, 27, 28
190
and 29, 1993, exhumation work began at site 3, “El Pozo” . On March 24, 1993, the judge of the Second
191
Court sent to the Legal Medicine Institute 10 cases of bone remains found at site 2 in El Mozote.
180.
The Commission has a document summarizing the meeting of the Tutela Legal with the
judge of the Second Court on March 31, 1993. It indicates that the judge sent copies of the file to the
Supreme Court of Justice which, according to the judge, “ordered the case to be dismissed (...) in light of
the amnesty law recently decreed by the legislative Assembly.” According to that report, the judge of the
Second Court declared that he had learned “through a dimwitted ex-Sergeant of the Salvadoran armed
forces” that “the El Mozote massacre was an individual decision of Domingo Monterrosa”. The judge
refused to name the sergeant, and said that “he did not summon him to give evidence because he did not
192
want to” .
181.
On that same day (March 31, 1993) the judge of the Second Court, together with staff of
the Legal Medicine Institute withdrew the working materials used during the exhumations of the skeletal
remains in the previous months. He did this because he assumed that the work of exhuming victims
193
would be halted because of the amnesty act . When asked about the need to identify and return the
remains to their relatives, he said “this nonsense is over with and I don’t want to get involved in any more
194
messes.” However, he then agreed to receive petitions in writing from the relatives.
D.
The decision on dismissal and application of the General Amnesty Act for
Consolidation of Peace
182.
On September 27, 1993 the judge of the Second Court issued a final decision of
dismissal. He divided the preamble (consideranda) into three sections: (i) corpus delicti; (ii) participation;
195
and (iii) observations.
186
Identification of Firearms at the El Mozote Execution Site. Dr. Douglas D. Scott (Annex D. to the petitioners’
communication of November 11, 2002).
187
Forensic Investigation Report, El Mozote, El Salvador. B. Clyde Snow, Robert H. Kirshner, Douglas D. Scott and John
F. Fitzpatrick (Annex D. to the petitioners’ communication of November 11, 2002).
188
Decision of the judge of the Second Court of September 27, 1993 (attached to the communication from the State of
October 14, 1993).
189
Ibid.
190
Ibid.
191
Ibid.
192
Internal report of the Tutela Legal of March 27, 1992 (Annex B to the petitioners’ communication of November 11,
193
Ibid.
194
Ibid.
2002).
195
Decision of the judge of the Second Court of September 27, 1993 (attached to the communication from the State of
October 14, 1993).