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RESOLUTION Nº 54/81 CASE
4665 CHILE October 16, 1981 BACKGROUND:
1. The Commission
received a denunciation in a communication dated November 7, 1979
reporting the arbitrary detention on August 14, 1979, of Raúl López
Peralta, and his subsequent torture, as follows: At
6.00 p.m. on August 15, some civilians carrying submachine guns cameto
the home of Raúl López Peralta, to inquire about alleged arms. They
had no search warrant and did not identify themselves, but indicated
that they had detained him the previous day. They drove up in a vehicle
whose license plate number was 01-765. When he was taken by carabineros
he was kicked, punched and hit with submachine guns. He was then taken
to a CNI facility on the Avenida Santa María, where he was tortured
along with Federico Alvarez Santibañez, who died as a result of the
torture. López Peralta was continually inflicted with the electric
grill, at high voltage, and in general was subjected to physical and
psychological torture, with threats against his family and so forth.
After Alvarez died, they took him to row 5 in the penitentiary; he was
given medical care for his many wounds in the penitentiary infirmary and
also received care from a practitioner at the José Joaquin Aguirre
Hospital. He is currently in the penitentiary, having been tried under
the arms control law. 2. In a note of
November, 12, 1979, the Commission transmitted the pertinent parts of
the denunciation to the Government of Chile, and requested that it
provide the corresponding information in accordance with the
Regulations. In a letter of the same date, it also acknowledged receipt
of the claimant's communication, and informed him how it had been
handled. 3. Since it
received no reply from the Government of Chile, the Commission
reiterated its request for information in a note dated February 26,
1981, advising of possible application of Article 39 of its Regulations.
WHEREAS:
1. Article 39 of
the Regulations of the Commission provides as follows: 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. To date, the
Government of Chile has not replied to the Commission's request for
information in its notes of November 12, 1979 and February 26, 1981. THE
INTER-AMERICAN COMMISSION ON HUMAN RIGHTS, RESOLVES:
1. In application
of Article 39, to presume the events denounced in the communication of
November 7, 1979 concerning the arbitrary detention and torture of Ramón
López Peralta to be true. 2. To declare that
such acts constitute a serious violation of the right to life, liberty
and personal security (Article I) and of the right of protection from
arbitrary arrest (Article XXV) of the American Declaration of the Rights
and Duties of Man. 3. To recommend to
the Government of Chile: a) that it order a full and impartial
investigation to determine responsibility for the events denounced; b)
that it punish those responsible for such acts according to Chilean law;
c) that it immediately release Raúl Ramón López Peralta, and d) that
it inform the Commission within 30 days as to the measures taken to put
these recommendations into practice. 4. To communicate
this resolution to the Government of Chile in the light of Article 50.2
of the Regulations of the Commission, for all pertinent purposes. 5. To include this
resolution in the Annual Report to the General Assembly of the
Organization of American States in accordance with Article 50.4 of the
Regulations of the Commission, if the Government of Chile does not adopt
the stated recommendations within the abovementioned time period.
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