3
6.
Regarding the obligation to pay Graciela De León, Patria Portugal and
Franklin Portugal the compensation for pecuniary and non-pecuniary damage and
the costs and expenses (tenth, eleventh and seventeenth operative paragraphs of
the judgment), the State advised that it had made the respective payments with
the established time frame.
7.
In this regard, the representatives advised that the said payments had
been duly made to the members of the Portugal family and, consequently, asked
the Court to establish that this measure of reparation had been complied with.
8.
For its part, the Commission “t[ook] note” that the payment vouchers
provided by the State “corresponded to the amounts established by the Court in
its judgment.” It therefore considered that this obligation “had been duly
complied with by the Panamanian State.”
9.
The President takes note of the measures undertaken by the State as
regards the payment of the compensation, costs and expenses, an aspect that
will be assessed by the Court in plenary session in order to declare full
compliance with this decision.
*
*
*
10.
With regard to the obligation to investigate the facts that gave rise to the
violations in the case and to identify, prosecute and, if appropriate, punish those
responsible (twelfth operative paragraph of the judgment), the State advised that
the criminal proceedings had been re-opened and that “the sworn statements of
several witnesses and of the victim, and the penal and the unsworn statements of
three of the four accused had been incorporated into this stage of the re-opened
case”; that “various documentary and expert evidence” had been incorporated;
“confrontations had been conducted,” and “the unsworn statement of Manuel
Antonio Noriega, which had been requested from the United States of America via
judicial assistance, was awaited.”
11.
The representatives argued that “the State had merely presented lists of
measures adopted” without “mentioning the existence of a specific line of
investigation to explain the connection between the different measures taken.” In
addition, they stated that the information presented “does not allow it to be
established that there has been any real progress in elucidating the truth about
what happed to Heliodoro Portugal.” They added that the reports presented “do
not indicate the date on which the said measures had been taken,” which means
“that it is not possible […] to determine whether they were taken in compliance
with the judgment in the case.” Moreover, they indicated that there had been
omissions in the provision of information to Mr. Portugal’s next of kin on the
progress of the investigations.
12.
The Commission considered that “it was unclear” what the State was
referring to when it reported “that, in the context of the investigation, the victim’s
sworn statement had been taken.” Furthermore, the Commission observed that
“the information provided by the State does not allow it to be established whether
the investigation initiated following the re-opening [of the case] and the
measures adopted to overcome the shortcomings and irregularities identified in
the judgment had been carried out with due diligence.”
13.
The President considered that complete and detailed information was
required on the status of the investigations that included a copy of the measures
taken and an explanation of the current lines of investigation in the proceedings.