REPORT Nº 10/96 ADMISSIBILITY CASE 10.636 GUATEMALA March 5, 1996 I. BACKGROUND 1. On September 11, 1990, Myrna Mack left her office in Guatemala City to return home. Two individuals armed with knives ambushed and attacked her, killing her with 27 knife wounds. The perpetrators then left the scene, taking with them the victim's portfolio and purse and a plastic bag she| carried. 2. The petitioners presented a petition to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (the "Commission") denouncing the murder of Myrna Mack and requesting investigation and clarification of the incident. Mrs. Mack was a Guatemalan anthropologist whose research and work was focused on the issue of displaced persons in Guatemala. The petitioners alleged that agents of the security forces of the Government of Guatemala had been responsible for the murder of Myrna Mack as a reprisal for her work which was critical of the State. On September 17, 1990, the Commission opened this case as case number 10.636. II. Proceedings before the Commission 3. After they presented their original complaint and up until December 21, 1995, the petitioners sent numerous communications to the Commission providing additional information in relation to this case. They provided information about the police investigation, the arrest of Noél Beteta (one of those allegedly responsible for the murder of Myrna Mack), the death of José Mérida Escobar, the police investigator who prepared the investigative report in the case, the advances in the domestic criminal processes, and the appeals and other judicial processes initiated by Helen Mack requesting access to certain evidence and the opening of a criminal proceeding against other persons who planned and committed the crime against Myrna Mack. Finally, the petitioners urged that the investigation and the criminal processes in Guatemala be brought to a conclusion and requested that the Commission order compensation for the family members of Myrna Mack. 1 4. The Government provided to the Commission a response in the case on February 20, 1991. After that date and up until February 14, 1996, the Commission received additional information from the Government about the police investigations, the arrest of Noél de Jesús Beteta Alvarez, the results of the various proceedings initiated by the Public Ministry and the petitioners within Guatemala and the advances in the domestic proceedings. 2 III. Facts Relating to the Question of Admissibility The facts described below were included in the information provided by the petitioners and the Government. The facts alleged by the petitioners were not denied by the Government. A. Investigations Carried Out by the Guatemalan Police 5. The investigations carried out in Guatemala in the case of Myrna Mack began with the investigative work of the Criminal Investigations Department on the same day of the murder 1 The petitioners sent information on the following dates: September 11, 1990, January 3, 1991, February 8, 1991, May 30, 1991, October 29, 1991, January 15, 1992, March 12, 1992, January 28, 1993, February, 1993, August, 1993, February 9, 1995, April, 1995, November, 1995, December 21, 1995. 2 The Government sent information on the following dates: February 20, 1991, December 12, 1991, November 30, 1992, February 12, 1993, May 5, 1993, May 12, 1993, June 30, 1993, April 28, 1995, July 14, 1995, February 9, 1996. 1