(supra para. 75). As a result of the foregoing, this Court establishes that the State must
continue and conclude, within a reasonable time, the investigation of the said facts in the
ordinary jurisdiction, based on the domestic norms that will allow those responsible to be
identified, prosecuted and punished, as appropriate, taking into account that the said facts
took place in the context of a systematic pattern of human right violations.
221. Also, owing to the special characteristics of the case, it is relevant that the criminal
investigation receive the testimony of the victim and perform a forensic physical and
psychological examination (supra para. 137). In addition, the investigation must be
conducted in accordance with the corresponding international norms, in particular the
American Convention and the Inter-American Convention against Torture, to both of which
Chile is a State Party.
222. In addition, in keeping with the considerations on the possibility of filing a civil action
within the framework of the investigation of the facts and the respective criminal
proceedings (supra para. 205), if this occurs, the State must enable Mr. García Lucero to file
claims for measures of reparation established in the applicable domestic laws.
223. Furthermore, in the context of this case, Decree Law No. 2,191 cannot represent an
obstacle to the implementation of actions aimed at the investigation, prosecution and
punishment, as appropriate, of those responsible. In this regard, it should be recalled that,
in the instant case, the State must proceed as indicated in the case of Almonacid Arellano et
al. v. Chile (supra para. 154).
C.
Measures of satisfaction and rehabilitation
224. International case law and, in particular, that of the Court, has established
repeatedly that the judgment constitutes per se a form of reparation. 224 Nevertheless,
considering the circumstances of the case and the effects on the victim arising from the
violations of the American Convention declared against him, the Court finds it pertinent to
decide the following measures of reparation.
C.1) Measure of satisfaction: publication and dissemination of the Judgment
C.1.1) Arguments of the Commission and of the parties
225. The representatives asked the Court to order the President of Chile, Sebastián
Piñera, “to address a private letter to Mr. García Lucero apologizing to him, to his wife Elena
[García], and to the other members of his direct family, in the name of the State, owing to
the severity of the human rights violations, and the suffering caused as a result of the
State’s action or inaction for almost four decades.” The Commission, without prejudice to
requesting that “Mr. García [Lucero] and his family receive integral and adequate reparation
for the human rights violations,” did not refer specifically to this measure. For its part, the
State contested this measure.
C.1.2) Considerations of the Court
224
Cf. Case of Neira Alegría et al. v. Peru. Reparations and costs. Judgment of September 19, 1996. Series C
No. 29, para. 56, and Case of Suárez Peralta v. Ecuador, supra, para. 177.
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