|
RESOLUTION Nº 6/85 Case
Nº 9472 CHILE July
24, 1985 CONSIDERING:
1. The transmittal to the Government of Chile on November 27, 1984 of the pertinent parts of a complaint reporting the death of NELSON HERRERA RIVEROS and MARIO OCTAVIO LAGOS RODRIGUEZ, which occurred in Concepción on August 23, 1984, and for which officials of the National Intelligence Agency are responsible. 2. The
communication of March 25, 1985 in which the Commission again requested
the Government of Chile for information and the communication of May 21,
1985 in which the Commission again requested the Government of Chile for
information on the facts reported and announced that if it does not do
so, it will have to consider the application of Article 42*
of its Regulations which stipulates that, in default of a reply from the
Government and of other evidence that indicates the contrary, the facts
complained of shall be presumed to be true. WHEREAS:
1. In accordance
with the information furnished to the Commission, on August 24, 1984,
Messrs Nelson Herrera Riveros and Mario Octavio Lagos Rodriguez were
riding in a Talcahuano-Concepción bus, license plates UCR 065, driven
by Mr. Pedro Segundo Aguayo Aguayo, when the vehicle was stopped at the
Vega Monumental by police officials, in uniform and in civilian clothes,
who required passengers to leave the bus. 2. When Nelson
Herrera and Mario Lagos got out of the bus with their hands above their
heads, Mr. Lagos was shot down by the police although he offered no
resistence, in view of which Nelson Herrera tried to flee and was hit by
shots fired at him and later died as a consequence of them. 3. That version of
the facts is provided by the driver of the bus in his declarations to
the Military Investigating Judge and to the press, and follows from the
autopsy made on Mario Octavio Lagos, according to which the bullet that
caused his death entered the thorax through the right axilla, which
would indicate that the victim was holding his hands above his head. 4. That the Office
of the Regional Intendant of Concepción issued a document in which it
states that Nelson Herrera and Mario Lagos, when they noticed that they
were being followed by personnel of the National Intelligence Agency,
boarded the public transportation vehicle mentioned and took the
passengers hostage, which caused a chase by members of the CNI who,
after a prolonged exchange of shots, succeeded in killing Herrera and
Lagos and freeing all the occupants of the vehicle unharmed. 5. On August 28,
1984, the Archbishop of Concepción, Monsignor José Manuel Santos,
requested the Appeal Court of that city to appoint an investigating
judge since "two completely different and therefore worrying
versions have been issued: one, the official version, which speaks of
death in clashes and the other, that of eyewitnesses, which speaks of
murders. Because of its gravity, that situation should be thoroughly
investigated so that when the facts have been clarified and the truth
established, calm may return to all the sectors and a continuation of
this spiral of hate, violence and doubt may be avoided". 6. The
above-mentioned request was denied by the Concepción Appeal Court since
it was of the opinion that the facts reported were not within the
competence of the ordinary courts of justice. 7. The Government
of Chile has not provided any information concerning the circumstances
of the death of Nelson Herrera and Mario Octavio Lagos, while there are
abundant indications that they were summarily executed, as follows from
the statement made in this preambular part and it is therefore
appropriate to apply Article 42 of the Regulations of the Commission
which stipulates that: The
facts reported in the petition whose pertinent parts had 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. In
virtue whereof, THE
INTER-AMERICAN COMMISSION ON HUMAN RIGHTS, RESOLVES: 1. To declare that
the Government of Chile has violated the right to life embodied in
Article I of the American Declaration on the Rights and Duties of Man,
because Nelson Adrian Herrera Riveros and Mario Octavio Lagos Rodriguez
were summarily executed by personnel of the National Intelligence
Agency. 2. To recommend to
the Government of Chile that it speedily and exhaustively investigate
the facts reported so as to identify the guilty parties and bring them
to trial so they will receive the corresponding penalties. 3. To transmit
this resolution to the Government of Chile so that it may make such
observations as it deems pertinent in a period of 45 days, calculated
from the date of the respective communication. 4. To publish this
resolution for the purposes of Article 63 (g) of the Regulations of the
Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, if the Government of Chile
does not provide sufficient evidence in the period granted in the
foregoing paragraph. |