32
79.
The representatives of the alleged victim requested the Court to declare the
violation of Articles 5(1) and 5(2) of the American Convention, in relation to Article
1(1) thereof, and of Articles 1 and 6 off the Convention against Torture, because:
a)
On August 9, 2000, the President of the Republic of Guatemala
acknowledged the State’s responsibility for the facts on which the application
and the arguments in this pleading before the Inter-American Court are
based, which “is also equivalent to acknowledging that the torture, cruel.
Inhuman and degrading treatment to which Maritza Urrutia was subjected
were the responsibility of the State”;
b)
Of what the Commission has alleged with regard to her detention,
solitary confinement, psychological torture, and the cruel, inhuman and
degrading treatment to which she was subjected by State agents, as well as
the other conditions under which she was kept for eight days of clandestine
detention. In addition, they mentioned that a lack of contact with the
external world, as a result of the solitary confinement to which the victim was
subjected, necessarily causes the person enduring this, the anguish that
arises from not knowing what is happening to one’s loved ones, which was
aggravated by the threats that the victim or her family would suffer harm;
c)
Even thought the alleged victim was not attacked physically, the acts
to which she was subjected were intended to cause mental suffering, and they
are included in the different definitions of torture that are nationally and
internationally accepted. Moreover, the means by which Maritza Urrutia was
tortured correspond to the substantive element of the acts typical of torture
according to Article 2 of the Inter-American Convention against Torture; and
d)
The next of kin of Maritza Urrutia also suffered psychological torture as
a result of her disappearance, at the hands of the security forces, who
generally kill those they capture in this way.
Arguments of the State
80.
The State did not present any specific argument on the alleged violation of
Article 5 of the Convention.
Considerations of the Court
81.
Article 5 of the Convention establishes that:
1.
Every person has the right to have his physical, mental, and
moral integrity respected.
2.
No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman, or
degrading punishment or treatment. All persons deprived of their
liberty shall be treated with respect for the inherent dignity of the
human person
[...]
82.
that:
Articles 1 and 6 of the Inter-American Convention against Torture establish