tioned that in May 1982 her brother will have served the
whole of his sentence. She also mentioned that, on the
ground of good conduct and because of his advanced
studies in medicine, he was allowed to give medical
treatment to his fellow prisoners, a task which he per
formed for several years and which earned him the
recognhion and esteem of the other prisoners.
1.4 With regard to her brother's more recent treat
ment, the author alleged that, in March 1980, Mario
Teti was held responsible by Major Mauro Mauriño (a
member of the Prison Administration who took part in
the torture sessions during the two months following his
arrest in 1972) for having instigated statements made by
prisoners to the Red Cross mission which visited the
prisoners in the Libertad prison in February/March
1980. In consequence, measures of reprisal consisting of
threats of death and physical attacks were inflicted on a
group of prisoners which included Mario Teti. In
August 1980, he was moved to a punishment cell where
he was deprived of any kind of physical exercise and
held in total isolation from the other prisoners.
1.5 Concerning the allegations of ill-treatment, the
author enclosed inter alia (i) a letter dispatched by a
relative of a prisoner on 2 June 1980 and (ii) the
testimony of a former detainee, Charles Serralta, re
leased in April 1980. The latter states, inter alia, in his
testimony:
I was arrested in July 1972 and expelled to France in April 1980. 1
spent six months in a barracks and the rest in Libertad Prison. It was
there that 1 met Mario Teti. We spent several years together on the
same floor. H e provided the prisoners on that floor with medical at
tention.
1.7 The author alleged that in June 1980 her brother
was forced to sign a statement in connection with new
charges which were brought against him and which were
to be added to the charges for which he had already
been sentenced in 1978. She further aheged, in her sub
mission dated 26 December 1980, that the new charges
against her brother were revealed to the press by
General Rafela (communiqué pubhshed on 28
November 1980 by the Uruguayan daily El Día). In this
connection she stated:
On 27 November, General Julio César Rafela, Chief of N o . 2
Regional Military Headquarters, denounced an alleged invasion plan,
organized from Libertad Prison. Several charges were brought against
Mario Teti in this connection which were said to justify a retrial; but
no mention was made of his whereabouts nor was he allowed any con
tact with his defence lawyer or his relatives. It is no mere chance that.
Икс Mario Teti who was due to be released in May 1982, other
prisoners who were nearing the end of their full sentences were also
charged by the military authorities. This was the case with Professor
Ratil Martinez sentenced to nine and a half years of imprisonment,
who was due to be released in April 1981, and'also the psychologist
Orlando Pereira, who was due to be released in August 1981 on com
pletion of his nine-year sentence. It is no mere chance, either, that the
statements in question were made only three days before the constitu
tional referendum. The obvious purpose was to sway public opinion
so as to secure a vote in support of the draft constitution submitted by
the mihtary Government. The conditions at Libertad Prison, which is
known to be one of the penal establishments with the most efficient
security systems, totally belie the statements made by General Rafela.
The author also mentioned that, at the start of the new
proceedings against her brother in June 1980, her
relatives were informed that another lawyer, in addition
to Colonel Barbé, would act in the case. This lawyer was
Dr. Amilcar Perea.
1.8 In her letter of 16 January 1981, the author also
alleged that, in the period prior to his move from the
Libertad prison, Mario Teti was in a very poor physical
and psychological state and she beheved that this must
have been due to the persecution and physical and
psychological pressure to which he was subjected after
the Red Cross mission left, as the medical report which
the mission made at the time it interviewed him did not
indicate any serious disturbance or disorder. In her let
ter of 8 June 1981 she said that she was extremely
alarmed about her brother's health—when he was
transferred from the Libertad prison he weighed 80
kilograms and after his return only 60 kilograms; she
feared that, if he continued to be subjected to un
satisfactory conditions of imprisonment, his health
might suffer even more to the point where his life might
be in danger. In her letter of 12 September 1981, the
author stated that as soon as her brother returned to
Libertad, he was given an electrocardiogram, which
revealed that the heart attack he had suffered in October
1980 had resulted in a blockage of the left artery. She
pointed out that as her brother suffered from chronic
asthma, treatment of his cardiac disease was very dif
ficult and that, in addition, her brother was suffering
from thrombophlebhis in both legs. She claimed that
these facts confirmed the seriousness of her brother's
situation.
It was towards the end of 1979 that Major Mauriño took over the
post of Prison Director. He questioned Mario several times. The Ma
jor knew him already because he was the officer who had tortured him
during the interrogations.
After the Red Cross delegation left, Mario was once again ques
tioned by Major Mauriño. The latter accused Mario of being respons
ible for the complaints allegedly made by the prisoners to the Red
Cross that he was a torturer. Until the day 1 left, Mario was constantly
harassed and threatened.
1.6 The author stated that, on 26 September 1980,
her brother was moved from the Libertad prison. In her
letter of 16 January 1981 she complained that, after his
removal from the Libertad prison, nehher his relatives
nor the international agencies nor the Italian Embassy
in Uruguay had managed to see him or to obtain any
definite information regarding his situation and place
of detention; the information obtained from the
Uruguayan mihtary authorities was vague, contradic
tory and impossible to verify. She added that, on 11
November 1980, in response to a request by the Interna
tional Red Cross for information, the military
authorities said only that he had been moved so that he
could be interrogated in connection with the review of
his trial and that he would be returned to the Libertad
prison on 20 November 1980. He was not, however,
returned to the Libertad prison until towards the end of
May 1981, that is, after being kept incommunicado for
eight months. At that time (27 May 1981) his wife and
his father were allowed to visit him.
1.9 The author claimed that her brother was a vic
tim of violations of articles 7, 9 (2), (3) and (4) and 14
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