44
*
*
143. The Court has stated on other occasions that the next of kin of the victims of
human rights violations may, in turn, be victims. The Court has held as violated the
right to psychological and moral integrity of the next of kin of victims because of
the additional pain they have suffered as a result of the particular circumstances of
the violations perpetrated against their loved ones and because of the subsequent
actions or omissions of State officials regarding the facts. 125
144. With respect to Mr. Prisciliano Sierra, the body of evidence shows that he
suffered various encumbrances that were evinced as feelings of fear, anger, and
distrust associated with the pursuit of justice and impunity of the case. 126
Moreover, the Court does not find the damages alleged by the representatives
regarding the reputation of Mr. Prisciliano Fernandez for the rape of his wife or
those relating to the alleged noncompliance of an assigned social role to be
attributable to the State (supra para. 140).
145.
As for the children of Mrs. Fernández Ortega, the Tribunal considers that
one of the primary afflictions they suffered has to do with their presence in a
situation of extreme violence, until immediately prior to the rape of their mother
(supra para. 83), a fact which likely generated a profound psychological impact,
intense fear, and uncertainty. The expert witness, Correa González, stated that, the
most evident psychological impact “has to do with the wounds of the images of
horror by which they have had to live with for so long, besides the fact of having
experienced death based on the possibility that their mother could have died, and
because of the violence of which she was a target. This has created a sense of fear
and distrust towards life.”127 In this regard, the Court notes that two of the
children present at the time preceding the rape were two and four years old, to
which it was stated to the Court that only the latter, named Colosio Prisciliano
Fernandez, has some memories of the events.128 On their behalf, the two eldest
daughters have clear memories of what occurred129 in fact, the eldest daughter,
Noemí Prisciliano Fernández, has given testimony regarding the facts she witnessed
125
Cf. Case of Blake v. Guatemala. Merits. Judgment of January 24, 1998. Series C No. 36, para.
114; Case of Radilla Pacheco, supra note 33, para. 161, Case of Chitay Nech et al., supra note 18, para.
220.
126
Mr. Prisciliano Sierra declared “[when] they told us that the case was already with the
[soldiers], that they were going to investigate it[, I] got very angry because I did not trust them to
investigate.” Moreover, the pursuit of justice implied that they had to leave their community in such a
way that “each time they left for Ayutla, they had to leave [their] children alone with the fear that
something could happen to them.” Likewise, he noted that “we were always with fear that something
would happen to us because we lived alone in a corner of Barranca Tecoani.” He also stated, “we are
always afraid[.] I don’t feel well about how so much time has passed since they hurt my wife and
nothing has happened since, it is like no one believes us but they believe the [soldiers],” sworn
statement rendered before public notary by Mr. Prisciliano Sierra, supra note 66, folios 1502 to 1504. On
the other hand, the expert witness Correa González noted that Mr. Prisciliano Sierra “[f]eels that he is
unable to properly care for his family, because he has accompanied [his wife] throughout the entire
process of filing a complaint, his financial situation has deteriorated to the point where they are no
longer able to live as they did before,” psycho-social expert opinion rendered before a public notary by
Mrs. Correa González, supra note 113, folios 1617 and 1618).
127
Cf. psycho-social expert opinion rendered by Mrs. Correa González, supra note 113, folios 1618.
The Court notes that the expert testimony of Mrs. Correa indicated that the “small children were not
interviewed so as not to cause undue harm from the reliving of memories without the possibility of self
control given the situation.”
128
Cf. Assessment of the psychological impact, supra note 30, folio 5691.
129
Cf. Assessment of the psychological impact, supra note 30, folios 5690 and 5691.