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RESOLUTION Nš 31/82 CASE
7530 BOLIVIA March
8, 1982
BACKGROUND:
1. In a
communication dated October 30, 1980, the Inter-American Commission on
Human Rights received a denunciation that Mrs. Guillermina Soria was
arrested by a paramilitary group of the Bolivian Government Intelligence
Service on September 22, 1980 and taken to the Ministry of the Interior
and later to the Miraflores barracks, where she was interrogated. In
October of that year she was held incommunicado at the Headquarters of
the DOP in the Plaza Murillo in the city of La Paz. According to the
denunciation received, Mrs. Soria was subjected to illegal acts and
torture to the extent that she required the attention of a neurologist. 2. In a cable
dated November 4, 1980, the Commission transmitted the pertinent parts
of the denunciation to the Government of Bolivia, asking it to provide
any information it considered pertinent, as well as any terms of
reference that would make it possible to decide whether remedies under
domestic law had been exhausted in the case in reference. 3. Not having
received a response from the Bolivian Government, the Commission, in a
note dated April 13, 1981, repeated its request for information,
mentioning the possible application of Article 39 of the Regulations
concerning presumption of the truth of the facts. Despite this, thus
far, the IACHR has not received any response from the Bolivian
Government. WHEREAS:
1. Article 39 of
the Commission's Regulations establishes the following: Article
39 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. 2. Thus far, the
Bolivian Government has not answered the Commission's request for
information in its notes dated November 4, 1980 and April 13, 1981,
which leads to the presumption that no domestic remedies remain to be
exhausted; 3. The Bolivian
Government's failure to answer the Commission's request for information
implies that there is no reason for holding the hearing for a friendly
settlement provided for in the Commission's Regulations, THE
INTER-AMERICAN COMMISSION ON HUMAN RIGHTS, RESOLVES: 1. Pursuant to
Article 39 of the Regulations, to presume to be true the facts reported
in the communication dated November 4, 1980, arbitrary detention and
illegal actions to which Mrs. Guillermina Sorta was subjected. 2. To point out to
the Bolivian Government that these events constitute serious violations
of the right to humane treatment (Article 5) and of the right to
personal liberty (Article 7) of the American Convention on Human Rights.
3. To recommend to
the Government of Bolivia: a) that it order a full and impartial
investigation to determine responsibility denounced, b) that, in
accordance with Bolivian Law, it punish those responsible, and c) that
it inform the Commission within 90 days of the measures taken. 4. To convey this
resolution to the Bolivian Government for the appropriate purposes in
accordance with article 44 of the Commission's Regulations. 5. If, after the
period established in paragraph 3 of this resolution, the Bolivian
Government has not set forth its observation, the Commission will
include this resolution in its Annual Report to the General Assembly in
accordance with Article 59 paragraph (g) of the Commission's
Regulations.
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