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RESOLUTION Nº 26/83 CASE
5671 ARGENTINA October 4, 1983 BACKGROUND: 1. During the
on-the-spot observation made by the Inter-American Commission on Human
Rights in September 1979 in Argentina, it received the following
complaint: PATRICIO
BLAS TIERNO, law student at the National University of La Plata, was
arrested by the army on May 15, 1976 and imprisoned in Resistencia
prison, with no charges having been made against him. While
imprisoned, he was murdered in Margarita Belín, Resistencia Chaco, at
dawn on December 13, 1976. The act was disguised as a confrontation and
was so reported in the newspapers. The act would have occurred when the
prisoner was transferred for reasons of security from the Resistencia
prison to the Formosa prison, which is a real absurdity, because
Resistencia is one of the most secure prisons in the country, whereas
the Formosa prison has no security whatever. None of the names of the
dead were published, but it was later known that they included only all
the prisoners. After
Mr. Tierno's arrest, action in his behalf was taken before the Ministry
of the Interior. Eight days after the army had murdered him, the
Ministry replied on December 21, 1976, to the effect that by Decree Nº
2137 of September 22, 1976 he was now in the hands of the PEN. The
family was informed of the death and in response to its vigorous
demands, the body was delivered to it. 2. Through a note
of February 25, 1980, the IACHR transmitted the pertinent parts of the
complaint to the Government of Argentina and requested it to furnish the
Commission with the appropriate information. 3. The IACHR has
received Note DGAPI "D.E.P.S. 6226" of December 21, 1976,
signed by Captain Carlos Rodolfo Doglioli, in which he states that Mr.
PATRICIO BLAS TIERNO was in the hands of government authorities. 4. The IACHR has
received information concerning the circumstances of Mr. Tierno's death,
including especially the fact that he was killed at dawn on December 13,
1976. Furthermore, as was obvious when the body was exhumed, Mr. Tierno
was buried completely nude, and his body was covered with mud. 5. Through a note
of January 18, 1983, the Commission repeated its request for information
to the Argentine Government and said that if this was not forthcoming
within a reasonable time, the Commission would consider application of
Article 39 of the Regulations of the Commission. To date, the Argentine
Government has not replied to the Commission's request. WHEREAS:
1. To date the
Government of Argentina has not replied to the request for information
made by the Commission with regard to this case; 2. Article 39 of
the Regulations of the Commission provides as follows: Article
39
(Presumption) The
facts reported in the petition whose pertinent parts have been
transmitted to the government of the state in reference shall be
presumed to be true if, during the maximum period set by the Commission
under the provisions of Article 31 paragraph 5, the government has not
provided the pertinent information, as long as other evidence does not
lead to a different conclusion. 3. At the time of
his death, Mr. Patricio Blas Tierno was in the hands of Argentine
authorities in a maximum security facility, THE
INTER-AMERICAN COMMISSION ON HUMAN RIGHTS, RESOLVES: 1. To presume the
facts reported in the communication of September 1979 to be true,
concerning the irregular circumstances of Mr. Patricio Blas Tierno's
death. 2. To declare that
the Government of Argentina violated the right to life, liberty, and
personal security (Article I) of the American Declaration of the Rights
and Duties of Man. 3. To recommend to
the Government of Argentina: a. that it investigate the acts reported;
b. that if appropriate it punish those responsible; and c. that the
government inform the Commission of the decision that it adopts on the
matter within a period of no more than sixty days, and especially on the
steps taken to put into practice the recommendations contained in this
resolution. 4. To transmit
this resolution to the Government of Argentina and to the complainants. 5. To include this
resolution in the final report to the General Assembly of the
Organization of American States in accordance with Article 59 (g) of the
Regulations of the Commission, without precluding the fact that the
Commission may reconsider the case at its next session, in the light of
the measures adopted by the government.
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