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RESOLUTION Nº 13/86 CASE
9295 NICARAGUA April
16, 1986 HAVING
SEEN: 1. The petition received by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights on April 9, 1984, according to which: FELIPE
SANTIAGO JIMENEZ GUTIERREZ, 38 years of age, single, a farmer and
resident of San Pedro de las Calles, District of San Juan de Telpaneca
in the Department of Madriz, was arrested on August 30, 1983 in his
home, accused of collaborating with counter revolutionaries by six
individuals dressed as militia men who were serving in the Commando of
San Juan de Telpaneca, where his family members subsequently recognized
the arresting officers; however, those arresting officers denied that he
was detained in that Commando. A search has been made for him in the
"La Barranca" and "La Chácara" prisons in Estelí
but it has not been possible to locate him. 2. The
transmission of the pertinent parts of that petition to the Government
of Nicaragua by note of June 18, 1984, requesting it to provide such
information as it deemed pertinent, as well as any information that
would make it possible to ascertain whether, in the case that is the
subject matter of this petition, the remedies of domestic law had been
exhausted. 3. The
communication of January 18, 1985, which repeated the request for
information of June l8, 1983. 4. The repetition
of the request for information made in the note of February 26, 1986,
which informed the Government of Nicaragua that, should such information
not be provided within a period of thirty days pursuant to Article 42 of
the Regulations, the facts reported would be presumed to be true. CONSIDERING:
1. That so far the
Government of Nicaragua has not replied to the request for information
made by the Commission concerning this case and that, in addition, the
requirements of domestic law have been exhausted. 2. That, by reason
of their nature, the facts that are the subject matter of the petition,
do not permit the application in this case of the friendly settlement
procedure. 3. That Article 42
of the Regulations of the Commission stipulate the following: 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 34, paragraph 5, the Government has not
provided the pertinent information, as long as other evidence does not
lead to a different conclusion. 4. That, in
addition to not replying to the repeated requests for information, the
Government of Nicaragua has so far not allowed a member of the
Commission and an official of the Secretariat to go to that country to
clarify certain aspects relating to this case, pursuant to the
provisions of Article 48.1 d of the American Convention on Human
Rights to which Nicaragua is a State Party. 5. That the
Government of Nicaragua did not present observations to Resolution 13/86
which had been transmitted to it. 6. That the
General Assembly of the Organization of American States declared in
Resolution 666 (XIII-0/83) that "The practice of the forced
disappearance of persons in the Americas is an affront to the conscience
of the hemisphere and constitutes a crime against humanity." In
view whereof: THE
INTER-AMERICAN COMMISSION ON HUMAN RIGHTS, RESOLVES: 1. To consider
true the facts reported in the communication of April 9, 1984 concerning
the arrest and subsequent disappearance of Mr. Felipe Santiago Jiménez
Gutiérrez. 2. To declare that
the Government of Nicaragua has violated the right to personal liberty
(Article 7) and the right to life (Article 4) embodied in the American
Convention on Human Rights to which Nicaragua is a State Party. 3. To recommend to
the Government of Nicaragua that it order a thorough investigation of
the facts reported in order to identify the persons responsible, and
prosecute and punish them in accordance with the law and that it adopt
the necessary measures to prevent the repetition of such serious events.
4. To include this
resolution in its Annual Report to the General Assembly of the
Organization of American States, in accordance with Article 63, g
of the Regulations of the Commission, and to transmit it to the
claimant.
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