Communication No. 336/1988 Submitted by: Nicole Fillastre (victim’s wife) Date of communication: 27 September 1988 Alleged victims: André Fillastre and Pierre Bizouarn State party: Bolivia Date of adoption of Views: 5 November 1991 (forty-third session) Subject matter: Prolonged pre-trial detention 2.2 On 3 September 1987, André Fillastre, Mr. Bizouarn and Ms. Zimmerman were arrested by the Bolivian police, after a complaint had been filed by the child’s father, who claimed that they had manipulated their way into his home and started a brawl in which he was injured. The two detectives allegedly had abducted the child and left the home, together with the mother. Criminal proceedings were instituted against them. On 12 September 1987, the examining magistrate indicted the accused on three grounds: (a) kidnapping of a minor (secuestro y rapto propio), punishable under article 313 of the Bolivian Penal Code: (b) unauthorized entry into a home (allanamiento de domicilio o sus dependencias; article 298 of the Bolivian Penal Code), and (c)causing grievous bodily harm (lesiones graves y leves; article 271 of the Bolivian Penal Code). Allegedly, he did so without having interrogated the accused. Nevertheless, Ms. Zimmerman was released a few days later, apparently without plausible explanations. Messrs. Fillastre and Bizouarn, however, were placed under detention and imprisoned at the prison of San Pedro in La Paz, where they continue to be held. Procedural issues: Notion of victim—Exhaustion of domestic remedies—Unreasonably prolonged proceedings—No violation of articles 10 and 14(3)(b) and (d) Substantive issues: Right to be promptly informed of any charges against one—Right to be promptly brought before a judge and tried within a reasonable period of time—Right to humane treatment—Right to adequate preparation of one’s defence and to communicate with counsel—Right to be tried without undue delay—Right to privacy Articles of the Covenant: 9(2) and (3), 10(1), 14(3)(b), (c) and (d), 17(1) and 24(1) Article of the Optional Protocol: 5(2)(b) 1. The author of the communication (initial submission dated 27 September 1988 and subsequent correspondence) is Nicole Fillastre, a French citizen residing in Le Havre, France. She submits the communication on behalf of her husband, André Fillastre, a French citizen and private detective by profession, currently detained at the prison of San Pedro in La Paz, Bolivia, together with another private detective, Pierre Bizouarn. By letter dated 25 May 1989, Mr. Bizouarn authorized Mrs. Fillastre to act on his behalf. 2.3 With regard to the requirement of exhaustion of domestic remedies, the author states that the judicial proceedings against her husband and Mr. Bizouarn have been pending before the court of first instance since 12 September 1987. In this context, she indicates that, on 12 June 1990, the judge was expected to render his decision in the case but that, since the legal aid attorney assigned to her husband did not appear in court, he decided to further postpone the hearing. The facts as submitted by the author 2.1 The author states that on 26 August 1987, André Fillastre and Pierre Bizouarn travelled to La Paz accompanied by Ms. Silke Zimmerman, a German citizen then residing in France. André Fillastre was; travelling in his capacity as a private detective on behalf of Ms. Zimmerman, who had requested his services in order to find and repatriate her four-year old son, Raphael Cuiza Zimmerman, living in Bolivia. Her son had allegedly been taken away from his mother by his Bolivian father, Jorge Cuiza, and flown to Bolivia. The complaint: 3.1 It is submitted that Messrs. Fillastre and Bizouarn were not able to adequately communicate either with their lawyer or with the examining magistrate, before whom they were brought on 3 September 1988, one year after their arrest. In particular, it is alleged that the interpreter who had been designated to assist 96