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Case 1858 Chile Case
Nº 1858, presented in a communication dated July 5, 1974, denounces
the arbitrary arrest of Mr. Franklin A. Valdez in Santiago, on September
23,1973. He died on October 4. His corpse was taken to the Institute of
Forensic Medicine, alleging that he had died on a public street. The
Commission, in a note dated July 29, 1974, requested the Government of
Chile to provide appropriate information. The
Government of Chile, in notes of October 3, 1974, (Nº 18113) and
January 14, 1975 (Nº 0867) reported that it was making the inquiries
necessary to enable it to report to the Commission as requested. The
Commission examined case 1858 at the thirty-fifth session (May 1975)
and, in view of the fact that the Government of Chile had not provided
the promised reports and that the period of time provided for under
Article 51 of the Regulations for transmittal of that information had
elapsed, it agreed at the same session to presume confirmation of
the facts denounced in this claim in application of the provisions
contained in Article 51, if by September 30, 1975, the Government of
Chile had not replied to the request made on July 29, 1974. It should be
pointed out that the decision was a majority decision, with an
abstention with reservation on the part of Dr. Justino Jiménez de Aréchaga. This
decision was reported to the claimant in a letter of August 12, 1975. At
the thirty-sixth session (October 1975) the Commission considered the
status of the case based on the decision taken at its previous sessions
and the fact that the Government of Chile had not provided any further
information on the matter. It therefore approved the following
resolution (OEA/Ser.L//II.36 doc.36 rev.2, October 24, 1975): WHEREAS: In
a communication of July 25, 1974, it was alleged that Mr. Franklin
Antonio Valdez Valdez, of San Florencio Nº 1669, San Bernardo,
Santiago, an accountant and administrator at the El Pino Hospital was
arrested on September 28, 1973, by a military patrol from the San
Bernardo Infantry School while he was at his work; on October 4, 1973,
at 9:30 a.m., Mr. Valdez Valdez was summoned to an interrogation room
together with other arrested individuals; on that same day, at 12
o’clock, a military patrol left the corpse of Franklin Valdez Valdez
at the Institute of Forensic Medicine, reporting that he had been found
dead in the street, he was robbed of his clothing, a Tressa watch,
9,000.00 Escudos and his documents as well, as the corpse was turned
over to the Institute as unidentified. In
accordance with the power conferred upon it by virtue of Article 9 (bis)
of its Statute, this Commission requested, through a note of July 29,
1974, that the Government of Chile provide the appropriate information,
transmitting to the Government the complete text of the denunciation
cited in the above paragraph, in the manner provided for under Article
42 (1) and 44 of its Regulations. In
a note of October 29, 1974, addressed to the Chairman of the Commission,
the Government reported that: "On
this matter (the death of Franklin Antonio Valdez Valdez) I am able to
state that a number of services have been asked to report on the
circumstances of his death. As soon as the information or results of the
measures ordered are available to this Ministry, I shall convey them to
that Institution." Subsequently,
in a note dated January 14, 1975, the Government reported that: "I
wish to inform your Excellency that the appropriate inquiries are being
made in order to be able to report to that commission as requested. The
Government of Chile has not provided any further information on the
case. THE
INTER-AMERICAN COMMISSION ON HUMAN RIGHTS, RESOLVES: To
regard the documents it has in its hands as adequate proof that Mr. Valdéz
Valdéz was arrested on September 28, 1973, by a military patrol from
the San Bernardo Infantry School and that his corpse was left at the
Institute of Forensic Medicine by a military patrol. To
include this resolution in the Annual Report that the Commission must
submit to the General Assembly of the Organization (Article 9 (bis) c of
its statute, making known that the allegations of case 1858 constitute a
serious case of violation of the right to life and personal security,
upheld in Article I of the American Declaration of the Rights and Duties
of Man. To
recommend to the Government of Chile that it continues its investigation
into the death of Mr. Valdéz Valdéz, in order to determine the
circumstances under which he died and to establish blame and to inform
this omission of its investigations. To
transmit the text of this Resolution to the Government of Chile and to
the claimant. This
Resolution was reported to the Government of Chile through a note of
December 1, 1975, and to the claimant, through a note of December 3,
1975.
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