HAVING SEEN:

1.          The petition of April 12, 1996 and its annexes, in which the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (hereinafter “the Commission” or “the Inter-American Commission”) submitted to the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (hereinafter “the Court” or the “Inter-American Court”), pursuant to Article 63(2) of the American Convention on Human Rights (hereinafter “the American Convention”) and Article 24 of the Rules of Procedure of the Court (hereinafter “the Rules of Procedure”), a request for provisional measures on behalf of Blanca Margarita Valiente de Similox, Vitalino Similox, Sotero Similox, María Francisca Ventura Sican, Lucio Martínez, Maximiliano Solís, Bartolo Solís, Julio Solís Hernández, María Magdalena Sunún González, Héctor Solís, José Solís, Gregoria Gómez, Juan García, Eliseo Calel and Víctor Tuctuc, in connection with case No. 11.570 now before the Commission against the Government of the Republic of Guatemala (hereinafter “the Government” or “Guatemala”).

2.          That the aforementioned petition by the Commission requested the Court to adopt the following provisional measures:

             1.          That effective security measures be adopted to guarantee the life and physical integrity of Blanca Margarita Valiente de Similox, Vitalino Similox, Sotero Similox, María Francisca Ventura Sican, Lucio Martínez, Maximiliano Solís, Bartolo Solís, Julio Solís Hernández, María Magdalena Sunún González, Héctor Solís, José Solís, Gregoria Gómez, Juan García, Eliseo Calel and Víctor Tuctuc.

             2.          That an investigation be duly undertaken to determine the identity of those responsible for the threats to, and attacks on the lives and personal integrity of Blanca Margarita de Similox, Vitalino Similox, Sotero Similox, María Francisca Ventura Sican, Lucio Martínez, Maximiliano Solís, Bartolo Solís, Julio Solís Hernández, María Magdalena Sunún González, Héctor Solís, José Solís, Gregoria Gómez, Juan García, Eliseo Calel and Víctor Tuctuc.

             3.          To call upon the State of Guatemala to use all the means at its disposal to execute the warrant for the arrest of Víctor Román and duly prosecute Víctor Román, Armando Tucubal, Héctor Cotzál and Hugo Cotzál, all accused in the deaths of Pascual Serech and Manuel Saquic, and possible perpetrators, together with Edwin and Carlos Román, of the threats to the members of the Kakchiquel Presbytery and CIEDEG in connection with this case.

             4.          To call upon the State of Guatemala to report forthwith to the Honorable Court on the specific measures it has adopted to protect Blanca Margarita de Similox, Vitalino Similox, Sotero Similox, María Francisca Ventura Sican, Lucio Martínez, Maximiliano Solís, Bartolo Solís, Julio Solís Hernández, María Magdalena Sunún González, Héctor Solís, José Solís, Gregoria Gómez, Juan García, Eliseo Calel and Víctor Tuctuc and, after providing that information, to report every 60 days on the status of the provisional measures.

             5.          To request the Honorable Court to hold a public hearing at its earliest convenience so that the Commission may have the opportunity to explain in detail the condition of defenselessness and grave danger in which Blanca Margarita Valiente de Similox, Vitalino Similox, Sotero Similox, María Francisca Ventura Sican, Lucio Martínez, Maximiliano Solís, Bartolo Solís, Julio Solís Hernández, María Magdalena Sunún González, Héctor Solís, José Solís, Gregoria Gómez, Juan García, Eliseo Calel and Víctor Tuctuc find themselves.  At the same time, the Government would have the opportunity to inform on the specific measures it has taken to clarify these crimes, punish those responsible for them, prevent a recurrence of such events in future, and guarantee the security of the persons named in this request.

3.          The events that form the basis of the request, which are summarized below:

a)          On August 1, 1994 Pascual Serech, a member of the Kakchiquel Presbytery of the Conference of Evangelical Churches of Guatemala (hereinafter “CIEDEG”) and President of the CIEDEG Human Rights Committee, was murdered in Panabajal, San Juan Comalapa, Chimaltenango, Guatemala.  Before he died, Mr. Serech recognized Víctor Román Cotzál, then an army commissioner in the area, and his sons Héctor and Hugo Cotzál as his attackers.  Later, the chief of civilian patrols of Panabajal and an army officer in the area, Armando Tucubal, was also charged of Mr. Serech's murder.

b)          On August 18, 1994 the Judge of the First Instance of Chimaltenango, Edgar Ramiro Elias-Ogaldez, in charge of the Serech case, was murdered.  On June 23, 1995 Mr. Manuel Saquic-Vásquez, minister of the CIEDEG Kakchiquel Presbytery in Chimaltenango and coordinator of the Human Rights Committee of the Kakchiquel Presbytery and of the Mayan Defense Council in Chimaltenango, was abducted.  His body was later discovered and bore clear signs of torture.  Former army commissioners Víctor Román Cotzál is accused of his murder.

c)           Since the deaths of the two ministers, the members of the CIEDEG Kakchiquel Presbytery, relatives of the victims and persons connected with the cases opened in Guatemala concerning the murders have been the subject of constant and increasing acts of harassment and violence, especially against the persons named in this petition.  The threats and attacks have been aimed mainly at the following persons, all of whom are connected with the work of the CIEDEG Kakchiquel Presbytery and with the case and investigation of the deaths of Mr. Saquic and Mr. Serech.

1.          Vitalino Similox:  President of CIEDEG.

2.          Margarita Valiente de Similox: wife of Vitalino Similox, head of the Kakchiquel Presbytery, who is actively involved in the lawsuits relating to the deaths of Mr. Serech and Mr. Saquic and testified at the hearing held by the Inter-American Commission on February 22, 1996.

3.          Sotero Similox:  father of Vitalino Similox and a participant in the campaign to shed light on the deaths of the two ministers.

4.          Maximiliano Solís:  leader of the Human Rights Committee of the CIEDEG Kakchiquel Presbytery, who testified at the hearing held by the Commission on February 22, 1996.

5.          Bartolo  Solís:  brother of Maximiliano Solís and a member of the Kakchiquel Presbytery Human Rights Committee.

6.          Julio Solís Hernández:  father of Maximiliano and Bartolo Solís.

7.          María Magdalena Sunún González:  mother of Maximiliano and Bartolo Solís.

8.          Héctor Solís:  a member of the Kakchiquel Presbytery residing in Pacorral, Tecpán, Chimaltenango.

9.          José Solís:  father of Héctor Solís.

10.        Gregoria Gómez:  mother of Héctor Solís.

11.        Lucio Martínez;  administrator and minister of the Kakchiquel Presbytery in Chimaltenango, who is actively involved in the clarification of the cases.

12.        María Francisca Ventura Sican:  wife of Mr. Manuel Saquic and the private complainant in the criminal case concerning her husband's murder.

13.        Eliseo Calel:  a member of the Kakchiquel Presbytery, who worked with Mr. Serech, an activist and office-holder in the New Guatemala Democratic Front [Frente Democrático Nueva Guatemala - FDNG]

14.        Víctor Tuctuc:  a minister of the Kakchiquel Presbytery in San Juan Comalapa, Chimaltenango, and an FDNG activist.

15.        Juan García:  a member of the Kakchiquel Presbytery.

d)          The threats and attacks leveled at the above-mentioned persons took the form of death-threat notes, abductions, physical attacks and harassment.  These acts began on January 8, 1995 with a meeting of members of the area's civil patrols and military officials, at which CIEDEG, the Mayan Defense Council and the Office for National Coordination of the Widows of Guatemala (CONAVIGUA) were accused of holding anti-army sentiments, receiving money from abroad and being in possession of firearms.  Mr. Román Cotzál was among those attending the meeting, at which several of the persons cited in this request were mentioned by name.

e)          These threats and attacks have continued up to the present and are made through groups such as “Jaguar Justiciero” and persons unknown; it is believed that the authors of the threats, accused of the murders of Mr. Serech and Mr. Saquic, are Víctor Román Cotzál, Héctor and Hugo Cotzál and Armando Tucubal.  Edwin and Carlos Román, sons of Víctor Román, are also alleged to be responsible for making the threats.

f)           On February 22, 1996, the Inter-American Commission held a hearing attended by several of the persons named in the cases before it, who received threats on account of their participation in the hearing.

4.          According to the Commission, Guatemala has not taken any effective action to protect those persons, and although a few measures have been taken, “the persons named are still constantly harassed.  Furthermore, those persons who are accused of the murders of Serech and Saquic and are possibly responsible for the threats and attacks are still at large.”

5.          Although the Commission has twice sought precautionary measures from Guatemala, on October 11, 1995 and March 6, 1996, the requisite effect has not been obtained.

CONSIDERING:

1.          That Guatemala has been a State Party to the American Convention since May 25, 1978 and that it accepted the jurisdiction of the Court on March 9, 1987.

2.          That Article 63(2) of the Convention provides that the Court shall take the provisional measures it deems pertinent in matters it has under consideration in cases “of extreme gravity and urgency, and when necessary to avoid irreparable damage to persons.”

3.          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.”

4.          That Article 1(1) of the American Convention sets forth the obligation of the States Parties to respect the rights and freedoms recognized in this treaty and to ensure to all persons subject to their jurisdiction the free and full exercise of those rights and freedoms.

5.          That the facts presented in this case effectively constitute “a prima facie case of urgent and grave danger to the lives and physical integrity” of the 15 persons named (underlining in the original).

6.          That the fact that the Inter-American Commission has twice called for precautionary measures which “have not produced the requisite effect of protection, since no proper investigation of the threats has been made by the competent authorities nor has the pending warrant for the arrest of Víctor Román Cotzál been executed, nor have Armando Tucubal, Héctor Cotzál or Hugo Cotzál been prosecuted although those persons stand accused of the murders of two members of CIEDEG, [nor] have other appropriate measures been taken to protect the lives and physical integrity” of the 15 persons named in the Commission's request, establishes exceptional circumstances which make it necessary to order urgent measures so as to avoid irreparable damage to them.

7.          That it is the responsibility of the Government to adopt security measures for all citizens, an undertaking that is all the more crucial in the case of persons involved in judicial proceedings before the organs of the inter-American system for the protection of human rights, the purpose of which is to determine whether or not human rights covered by the American Convention have been violated.

8.          That, likewise, the Government of Guatemala has the obligation to investigate the events that led to this request for provisional measures in order to identify those responsible and punish them accordingly, particularly with regard to the alleged explicit threats of reprisals against some of the persons named, on account of their appearance before the Commission at the public hearing on February 22 of this year.

NOW, THEREFORE:

THE PRESIDENT OF THE INTER-AMERICAN COURT OF HUMAN RIGHTS,

in consultation with the Court and pursuant to Article 63(2) of the American Convention on Human Rights and in exercise of the authority conferred on him by Article 24(4) of the Rules of Procedure.

DECIDES:

1.          To call upon the Government of the Republic of Guatemala to adopt forthwith such measures as may be necessary to protect the lives and physical integrity of Blanca Margarita Valiente de Similox, Vitalino Similox, Sotero Similox, María Francisca Ventura Sican, Lucio Martínez, Maximiliano Solís, Bartolo Solís, Julio Solís Hernández, María Magdalena Sunún González, Héctor Solís, José Solís, Gregoria Gómez, Juan García, Eliseo Calel and Víctor Tuctuc, and to avoid irreparable damage to them, in strict compliance with the obligation to respect and guarantee human rights, which it undertook in accordance with Article 1(1) of the American Convention on Human Rights.

2.          To call upon the Government of the Republic of Guatemala to investigate the events and punish those responsible and to use the means at its disposal to execute the warrant for the arrest of Víctor Román Cotzál.

3.          To call upon the Government of the Republic of Guatemala to report to the Court, every thirty days from the date of notification, on the urgent measures it adopts, and upon the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights to transmit its comments on that information to the Court within fifteen days of its receipt.

4.          To submit this Order for the Court's consideration and pertinent effects during its next session.

5.          To summon the parties to a public hearing at the seat of the Court on June 27, 1996, at 10:00 a.m., so that the Court may hear their views on the events and circumstances that led to this request for provisional measures and to this Order.