Washington College of Law
Center For Human Rights and Humanitarian Law
RESOLUTION No. 9/86
CASE 9284 (NICARAGUA)
April 16, l986
HAVING SEEN:
- The petition received by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights on April 9,
l984,
according to which:
SANTOS MARCELO MARTINEZ GARCIA, aged 35 years, married, a farmer
and
resident in the Boca de Baná District, Department of Nueva Segovia, was arrested on
January
6, l983 in his house by the Quilalí Border Guards. A search was made for him in the
Quilalí
Commando, the prisons of Ocotal, Estelí and Matagalpa but no information concerning
him was
obtained.
FELIZ ALEJANDRO MARTINEZ GARCIA, the brother of the foregoing, aged
25
years, married, a farmer and resident of the Baná Centro Area, Wiwilí District,
Department of
Nueva Segovia, was arrested together with his brother Santos Marcelo on January 6, l983 by
the Quilalí Border Guards.
The family members of the above-mentioned were recently informed that they had
been
found dead, which version it has not been possible to confirm.
- The transmission of the pertinent parts of that petition to the Government of Nicaragua
through the note of June 18, l984, requesting it to provide such information as it deemed
appropriate,
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.
- The communication of January 18, l985, which repeated the request for information of
April
9, l984.
- The repetition of the request for information made in the note of February 26, l986,
which
informed the Government of Nicaragua that, should such information not be provided within the
period
of thirty days pursuant to Article 42 of the Regulations, the facts reported would be presumed to
be true.
CONSIDERING:
- 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.
- 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.
- That Article 42 of the Regulations of the Commission stipulates 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.
- That the Government of Nicaragua, in addition to not replying to reiterated requests
for
information, 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.
In view whereof:
THE INTER-AMERICAN COMMISSION ON HUMAN RIGHTS,
RESOLVES:
- To consider true the facts reported in the communication of April 9, l984 concerning
the
arrest and subsequent death of Messrs. Santos Marcelo Martínez García and
Félix Alejandro Martínez
García.
- To declare that the Government of Nicaragua has violated the right to personal liberty
(Article 7) and the right to life (Article 4) set forth in the American Convention on Human Rights
to
which Nicaragua is a State Party.
- To recommend to the Government of Nicaragua that it conduct a thorough
investigation of
the facts reported for the purpose of identifying the persons responsible and prosecuting and
punishing
them in accordance with the law and that it adopt the necessary measures to prevent the
reoccurrence of
such serious events.
- 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
communicate it to the claimants.
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