HAVING SEEN:
1. The Order of the President of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (hereinafter "the Court" or "the Inter-American Court") of April 12, 1996, wherein he decided:
1. To request that the Government of the Republic of Ecuador adopt forthwith such measures as are necessary to effectively ensure the physical and moral integrity of Mr. Rafael Iván Suárez-Rosero, so that any provisional measures that the Inter-American Court may take can have the requisite effect.
2. To request that the Government of the Republic of Ecuador submit a report to the President of the Court every thirty days from the date of this Order, on the measures taken pursuant to this Order, so as to bring the information to the attention of the Court.
2. The aforementioned Order, in which the President of the Court convened the Government of the Republic of Ecuador (hereinafter "Ecuador" or "the Government") and the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (hereinafter "the Commission" or "the Inter-American Commission") to attend a public hearing to be held at the seat of the Court on June 26, 1996, so that the Court may hear their views on the events and circumstances that inspired the Commission's request for provisional measures.
3. The Inter-American Commission's request of April 12, 1996 for expansion of provisional measures, in which it asked the Court:
[t]hat it request the State of Ecuador to adopt effective security measures to protect the lives and personal integrity of [Rafael Iván Suárez-Rosero, Margarita Ramadán de Suárez, and Micaela Suárez-Ramadán].
To further request the State of Ecuador to investigate the attempt on Mr. Suárez's life and the threats and harassment to which he and his family have been subjected, and to punish those responsible.
To request the State to report promptly to the Honorable Court on the specific measures it has taken to protect Mr. Suárez and his family and, once that information has been provided, to keep it regularly informed on the status of the provisional measures;
and reiterated its request that the Court approach the Government to request adoption of the measures necessary for Mr. Rafael Iván Suárez-Rosero to be immediately granted a provisional release.
4. The basis of the Inter-American Commission's request for the expansion of provisional measures, namely, an alleged attempt on the life of Mr. Suárez-Rosero on April 1, 1996, and threats and harassment to which he, his wife, Mrs. Margarita Ramadán de Suárez, and their daughter, Micaela Suárez-Ramadán, have been subjected since that date.
5. The statement of facts, lasting thirteen hours and forty-five minutes, given by Police Sub-lieutenant, CDP Guard Officer, on April 1, 1996, which claimed that the detainees had "fought among themselves," that in the fray Mr. Rafael Iván Suárez-Rosero had received "a slight superficial wound on his right side at the level of his navel," and that the immediate medical attention he had received showed that Mr. Suárez-Rosero had "suffered no serious injury". The report also stated that the perpetrator had been punished "with five (5) days of solitary confinement and five (5) days without visitors, as stipulated in the CRSVQ-1 regulations."
CONSIDERING:
1. That Article 63(2) of the American Convention on Human Rights (hereinafter "the Convention" or "the American Convention") provides that the Court shall adopt such provisional measures as it deems pertinent in matters it has under its consideration when they relate to cases "of extreme gravity and urgency, and when necessary to avoid irreparable damage to persons," and that by the terms of Article 24(4) of the Rules of Procedure, "[i]f the Court is not sitting, the President, in consultation with the Permanent Commission and, if possible, with the other judges, shall call upon the government concerned to adopt the necessary urgent measures and to act so as to permit any provisional measures subsequently ordered by the Court, in its next session, to have the requisite effect."
2. That pursuant to the above-mentioned Order of April 12, Ecuador is obliged to adopt all necessary measures to ensure the physical and moral integrity of Mr. Suárez-Rosero and to keep the President of the Court regularly informed of such measures, "so that any provisional measures that the Inter-American Court may take may have the requisite effect."
3. That in the expansion of its request for adoption of provisional measures, the Commission indicates that on April 1, 1996 Mr. Suárez was warned "not to forget that he had relatives outside." Although the Commission does not specify who made the threats nor does it provide any further detail or description of the event, it must be borne in mind that Mr. Suárez is in the midst of a far-reaching criminal process involving crimes connected with drug trafficking, which causes the Commission concern about the threats to his wife, Mrs. Margarita Ramadán de Suárez, and their daughter, Micaela Suárez-Ramadán.
4. That with regard to the Commission's second request, concerning the "attack" on Mr. Suárez, consideration must be given to the police report of April 1, 1966, provided by the Commission for the consideration of the Court, indicating that Mr. Suárez suffered a superficial wound as a result of quarrel which, it is stated, broke out when he himself approached Mr. Jorge Reyes "to complain about a pending action". The same report also indicates that the person responsible for these acts was punished in accordance with the prison regulations in force in Ecuador.
5. That there are therefore two contradictory versions of the manner in which the alleged events occurred, and the Court has no further information at its disposal until the Government presents its first report in accordance with the second paragraph of the operative part of the April 12, 1996 Order of the President of the Court. However, States are obliged to protect the lives and physical integrity of their citizens in any circumstance, all the more so in this specific case in which the statements of Mr. Suárez-Rosero and Mrs. Ramadán de Suárez have been presented to the Court as part of the Commission's stock of evidence in a judicial process to determine whether or not the human rights enshrined in the American Convention have been violated by a State Party. This circumstance requires the Government to guarantee that neither witnesses nor their families shall be the victims of any sort of reprisal on account of their testimony to this Court.
6. That the Commission's third request, concerning periodic information on the measures taken by the Government, has already been complied with in regard to Mr. Suárez-Rosero.
NOW, THEREFORE:
THE PRESIDENT OF THE INTER-AMERICAN COURT OF HUMAN RIGHTS,
pursuant to Article 63(2) of the American Convention on Human Rights and exercising the authority conferred on him by Article 24(4) of the Rules of Procedure of the Court, and after prior consultation with the Permanent Commission of the Court,
DECIDES:
1. To request that the Government of the Republic of Ecuador expand the provisional measures established in the Order of the President of April 12, 1996 to include Ms. Margarita Ramadán de Suárez and her daughter, Micaela Suárez-Ramadán, investigate the events denounced by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, and punish those responsible.
2. To submit this Order for the Court's consideration and pertinent effects during its next regular session.
3. To request that the Government of the Republic of Ecuador include in the reports it shall present every thirty days to the President of the Court, pursuant to his Order of April 12, 1996, the measures taken in compliance with this Order so that they may be brought to the attention of the Court.
4. To request that the parties, in their presentations to the Court during the public hearing convened for June 26, 1996 at 10:00 a.m., include their views on the events and circumstances that motivated this Order.
Héctor Fix-Zamudio
President
Manuel E. Ventura-Robles
Secretary
So ordered,
Héctor Fix-Zamudio
President
Manuel E. Ventura-Robles
Secretary