113
246. In order to set the amount of compensation for non pecuniary damage, the
Court takes due account of the fact that the violations to the freedom of thought and
expression committed by the State, the deprivation of the use and enjoyment of
copyrights on the book “Ética y Servicios de Inteligencia” (“Ethics and Intelligence
Services”), the lack of procedural safeguards to which the victim was subjected upon
being tried by military courts in the military criminal proceedings instituted against
him, the various arbitrary deprivations of liberty and the lack of effective judicial
protection, all hindered family relations since the facts of this case forced the victim’s
family to separate. As shown by the proven facts and the statements of the victim,
his wife and their three children, Mr. Palamara-Iribarne was forced to move to
Valparaíso in March of 1993, while his wife and children moved to a different
apartment outside of the naval base in Punta Arenas, and later on to Viña del Mar.
The splitting up of his family, along with the lack of economic resources to be able to
meet with them, has caused Mr. Palamara-Iribarne suffering and stress. Moreover,
as he was a professional naval engineer whom the military authorities had accused
of endangering national security and the interests of the Navy, and convicted of the
crimes of disobedience, breach of military duties and contempt of authority, he
encountered difficulties in finding a job within his professional field.
247. In this regard, it is particularly worth mentioning that, for exercising his right
to freely express his ideas and opinions, Mr. Palamara-Iribarne was prosecuted by
the military criminal courts and, throughout the entire proceedings instituted
against him, he was not heard or dealt with by any regular judicial authority
satisfying the independence and impartiality requirements. Being a civilian
subjected to a jurisdiction that was not the appropriate one for being tried for the
commission of crimes that affected the interests of the very institution that was in
charge of trying him created in Mr. Palamara-Iribarne a sense of defenselessness
and powerlessness in view of the actions of the military authorities. Mr. PalamaraIribarne was aware of the fact that the members of the military courts were a part
of the very same institution that had made the accusation for the alleged offenses,
investigated, gathered and assessed evidence against him and, at the same time,
prosecuted him, and that such members were subordinated, under the chain of
command, to the same military authorities who had censored his book and, later
on, filed charges against him for the commission of other crimes.
248. Considering the different aspects of the non pecuniary damage caused in the
instant case, the Court does, on grounds of equity, set the amount of US$ 30,000.00
(thirty thousand United States dollars) or its equivalent in Chilean currency, to be
paid by the State to Mr. Palamara-Iribarne as compensation for non pecuniary
damage, within a period of one year.
C) OTHER FORMS OF REPARATION
(MEASURES OF SATISFACTION AND NON-REPETITION GUARANTEES)
249. Under this heading, the Court will determine those measures of satisfaction
aimed at redressing non pecuniary damage which are not pecuniary in nature but are
public or publicly noticeable instead.233
233
Cf. Case of the “Mapiripán Massacre” supra note 1, para. 294; Case of Gutiérrez-Soler, supra note
1, para. 93; and Case of Acosta-Calderón, supra note 189, para. 163.
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