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RESOLUTION Nº 19/78Case
2088 B ARGENTINA November 18, 1978 BACKGROUND: 1. A note dated
August 4, 1976 and cablegrams of the same date charged that former
deputy Mario Abel Amaya was kidnapped in Buenos Aires. 2. In a cablegram
of August 26, 1976, the Commission transmitted the pertinent parts of
this charge to the Government of Argentina and requested it to provide
all related information. 3. In a cablegram
dated August 31, 1976, the Government of Argentina replied to the
request of the Commission and provided the following information: "Following
an investigation, on the 30th of this month the competent agencies freed
former Senator Solari Irigoyen and former Deputy Amaya, kidnapped by a
still unidentified group." 4. The Commission
transmitted to the claimants a note dated September 2, 1976, with the
pertinent parts of the information provided by the Government of
Argentina and invited claimants to make any observations. 5. In a note dated
September 14, 1976 the claimant reported that while former deputy Amaya
was still alive, he was detained and placed at the disposition of the
Executive (PEN) under the terms of the state of siege, and was being
held at facilities of the Fifth Army Corps located in the city of Bahía
Blanca, south of the Province of Buenos Aires. 6. In a cablegram
dated October 22, 1976, the Government of Argentina reported the
following: "The
National Office of the Federal Penitentiary Service reported, through
its press office that Mario Abel AMAYA, the person detained and placed
at the disposition of the Executive had died on October 19, at 10 p.m.
in the Central Penitentiary Hospital. The patient had been admitted to
the hospital to be treated for chronic asthma and a coronary condition
which had been identified five years earlier. Despite the professional
clinical care, in view of his condition, and the time of day, he
suffered a heart attack which did not respond to first aid and his death
was caused by acute cardiac insufficiency brought on by an acute
myocardial infarct." 7. In a note dated
October 28, 1976, the Commission transmitted the pertinent parts of this
information to the claimants and requested them to present their
observations. 8. During its 39th
session, the Commission decided to request the Government of Argentina
to provide information concerning the reasons for Mr. Amaya's detention
and why he was not transferred to a general hospital, in lieu of the
penitentiary hospital, to receive the medical care that his condition
required. This information was requested in a note dated December 6,
1976. 9. In a note dated
January 11, 1977, the Government of Argentina replied as follows: "With
respect to this matter, I wish to report that Mr. Mario Abel Amaya was
detained for presumed ties with subversive activities. Likewise, I
inform you that the penitentiary hospital to which he was admitted has
adequate facilities and personnel to provide treatment for conditions
such as suffered by Mr. Amaya. Unfortunately the seriousness of his
condition could not be corrected by the efforts of the medical personnel
to save his life." 10.
On January 14, 1977, the Commission transmitted the pertinent
parts of the foregoing information to the claimants, requesting their
observations. 11.
In a note dated October 16, 1977, the Commission received a
statement made by Mr. Hipólito Solari Irigoyen, who had been detained
along with Mr. Mario Abel Amaya. The pertinent part of his statement
reads as follows: "Deputy
Mario Abel Amaya was also detained on August 17, 1976, in his home at
Trelew, the Province of Chubut, and was detained on the same terms as I
was until we were transferred on September 11, 1976 in a naval aircraft
from Bahía Blanca to the 'Almirante Zar' Naval Air Base at Trelew and
from there to the Rawson jail. As a result of the brutal treatment at
the Base and in the jail, and the lack of medical care during the first
few days, Deputy Amaya was transferred in critical condition to the
hospital of the Villa Devoto Prison, in Buenos Aires, where he died on
October 19, 1976." WHEREAS: 1. In light of the
background information given above, it is found that Mr. MARIO ABEL
AMAYA was detained and tortured by the authorities and was in prison
when he died on October 19, 1976; 2. The authorities
knew of Mr. Mario Abel Amaya's chronic asthmatic condition and of his
coronary disease, but despite this, they kept him in inadequate and
inhuman conditions, given his state of health, and did not supply him
with the care the case required, THE
INTER-AMERICAN COMMISSION ON HUMAN RIGHTS, RESOLVES: 1. To observe to
the Government of Argentina that such acts constitute very serious
violations of the right to life, liberty and personal security (Art. I);
of the right to a fair trial (Art. XVIII) and of the right to protection
against arbitrary arrest (Art. XXV) of the American Declaration of the
Rights and Duties of Man. 2. To recommend to
the Government of Argentina: a. that it order a complete, impartial
investigation to determine who was responsible for the acts denounced;
b. that it punish those responsible for those acts, in accordance with
Argentine law, and c. that it report to the Commission, within a maximum
of 30 days, on the measures taken to put into practice the
recommendations made in the present Resolution. 3. To communicate
this Resolution to the Government of Argentina and to the claimants. 4. To include this Resolution in the Annual Report of the Commission to the General Assembly of the Organization of American States, pursuant to Article 9 (bis), paragraph c. iii of the Statute of the Commission.
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