REPORT Nº 50/04 PETITION 12.056 ADMISSIBILITY GABRIEL OSCAR JENKINS ARGENTINA October 13, 2004 I. SUMMARY 1. On September 9, 1997, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (hereafter the "Inter-American Commission,” “the Commission” or “the IACHR”) received a complaint submitted by Mr. Gabriel Oscar Jenkins (hereafter "the petitioner," "the plaintiff" or "the victim"), against the Republic of Argentina (hereafter "the State," "the Government" or "Argentina"). The petition relates to the petitioner's arrest and confinement in preventive detention for more than three years, and the repeated refusal of the judicial authorities of Argentina to grant him the benefit of conditional release, because of the type of crime of which he was accused. The complaint also refers to the alleged denial of judicial protection and guarantees due to the lack of due diligence in the process of investigating and punishing the prosecution officials who allegedly submitted fabricated evidence during the victim's trial. 2. The petitioner maintains that the State is responsible for violating his right to personal liberty, to a fair trial, and to judicial protection, in relation to the general obligations to respect and ensure the exercise of those rights and to adapt internal legislation, contained in Articles 7, 8, 24, 25, 1(1) and 2, respectively, of the American Convention on Human Rights (hereafter "the Convention" or "the American Convention"). 3. The State asked to the Commission to declare the petition inadmissible for failure to exhaust available remedies within the domestic jurisdiction, and also on the grounds that the facts described in the complaint, in the State's view, do not characterize violations of rights protected by the Convention. 4. The Commission concludes in this report, without prejudice to the merits of the case, that the petition is admissible, pursuant to Articles 46 and 47 of the Convention, and it will therefore continue its analysis with respect to the alleged violations of Articles 7, 8, 24, 25, 1(1), and 2 of that instrument. II. PROCEEDINGS BEFORE THE COMMISSION 1